


The Day That I Met You

by jessikur



Category: Avenged Sevenfold
Genre: F/M, Love Triangle, OC, Party, Romance, Siblings
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-22
Updated: 2020-01-21
Packaged: 2021-02-27 10:00:44
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 15
Words: 29,692
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22355248
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jessikur/pseuds/jessikur
Summary: Olivia is Matt's sister and has had a crush on Brian for as long as she can remember. Zacky, though, has had a crush on Olivia for as long as he can remember. Brian has no idea. What will come of this love triangle?
Relationships: Synyster Gates/Original Female Character(s), Zacky Vengeance/Original Female Character(s)
Kudos: 5





	1. Prologue

Olivia

I’ll never forget the day I met Brian Haner Jr. The memory still plagues my mind to this day and I know it always will. I will never forget seeing him walk through that garage door, hips swinging gracefully as he laughed at what his friends were saying. I won’t forget how that smile made me melt, how that laugh gave me butterflies, and I didn’t even know who he was.

That fateful day I was honestly just planning on sitting in on my brother’s band practice, like I did all of the time. But this time when they walked in from the driveway I was taken aback. Instead of just the four boys I was used to, there was a fifth, beautiful young man in their graces. A new member. They had been talking about adding a new guitarist for quite sometime and I knew it had to be him.

“Hey, Liv,” my brother said to me, giving me a look. My mouth was hanging open a bit and I laughed awkwardly as the guys walked into the garage. “I see you noticed our new guitarist, Brian.”

“Synyster Gates,” he quickly correctly, reaching his hand out to me. I took it, feeling his rough hands against mine.

“H-hey,” I barely managed to say. “I’m Olivia, Matt’s sister.”

“I noticed,” he coolly said to me with a smirk, causing me to blush. He let my hand go and turned away from me, starting to set up to practice while I awkwardly stared after him before I finally came to my senses and walked toward the couch I always watched the band from.

Many of the moments of that particular evening have become a blur, but the image of him walking through the garage door, grabbing my hand and smirking at me have never left my mind. The way he strummed the guitar and fit right into the band stunned me. Watching him play never ceases to amaze me and to this day I love to see him perform.

No matter what I did, though, he never seemed to notice me in return. For years I would flirt, laugh at his stupid jokes even when they weren’t funny, and do basically whatever he asked of me as long as it wasn’t too crazy. He and I were friends, of course, because that is the simple nature of your relationship with your brother’s best friend, but I wanted more. So much more. And though I thought I was making it clear to him, he was either not interested at all or totally dense.

And of course there was the issue of my brother in the first place- what would he think? Part of me believes he would love it, but part of me knows he would hate it. He can be protective of his baby sister, after all, and dating his best friend would at the very least be a bit awkward for him. I had convinced myself that this is why Brian ignored my advances, but as time has passed, I was becoming less confident in that thought.

I know I’m attractive, at least to some guys. I’m thin, have long brown hair, blue eyes, and nice enough skin. Maybe I’m a bit plain, but I don’t particularly try to be any other way. Maybe he’s not attracted to me, maybe I’m too much like a sister at this point. But I’m sick of waiting to find out.

-0-

Zacky

I’ll never forget the day I met Olivia Sanders. I was hanging out with Matt and Jimmy, smoking cigarettes and shooting shit, talking about our new band. We were just kids at the time dreaming of our big future outside of our world in Huntington Beach. Before that day all I wanted to do was escape and get away from the people in my hometown, but that was before she walked through the door.

I think her intentions at the time were just to get on Matt’s nerves, not to change me forever. She swung open the door that led to the house and started talking to Matt, telling him that smoking was bad and that he was a loser for hanging out with people who do it. I put out my cigarette the moment she said it. Though I didn’t stop smoking after that, she made me quit for a second. Matt yelled at her to leave, but Jimmy, thank God, convinced her to come outside and hang out with us.

I’ll never forget the way she gracefully stepped into the garage in her blue sundress, long brown hair swaying behind her and she approached us. Her blue eyes caught my green ones and she smiled at me, waving hello.

“I haven’t met you,” she simply stated.

“Zack,” I told her, awkwardly waving. I remembered debating whether or not I should leave my seat on the couch to shake her hand, but she was already onto pestering her brother again.

“So I hear you’re starting a band with these guys?” she asked him, pointing to Jimmy and I.

“Mind your fucking business,” he grumbled to her, rolling his eyes.

“Hey, now! I think that’s cool. You should totally do it!” she said, smiling at me. The smile that melted me. For a few moments she went on about what type of music we should play, what our band name should be, and that we should probably add a bassist at some point. We hadn’t gotten that far ourselves, but it was cute watching her plan everything out.

As time passed, Olivia was always part of planning things when it came to the band. She was extremely smart and creative, always coming up with ideas for us when it came to getting gigs and marketing ourselves. She and Val, Matt’s girlfriend, always went out of their way to help us at performances with selling our merch, and she was always on the lookout for ways to get us more gigs. Her dedication to our band made me like her even more.

I would occasionally try and flirt with Liv, but was never really sure how Matt would take it. But, I’m not even sure Matt would notice. I’m a little bit of a flirt with all girls anyways, so who knows if he would even see the difference. But, that was part of the problem. I wasn’t sure if Liv noticed either. Though I would try to go out of my way to be nice to her, laugh at her jokes even when they were funny, and do things for her, she didn’t really get the hint.

Maybe she saw me more as a brother type, or just a friend, I don’t know. But I was sick of waiting to find out.

-0-

Brian

I’ve met a lot of people in my life. None of these meetings have been particularly memorable, like from a book or a movie. Maybe I’m just not that kind of guy, I don’t know.

I remember certain moments in my life of course; everyone has moments in their life that defines who they are, how they think, and how they act. I remember getting my first guitar, playing a song through all of the way, the first song I wrote. I remember high school, moments with my friends, and certain nights with different girls. Sometimes these memories bled together, sometimes these memories stood apart. But I couldn’t say I had one particular moment in my life that defined me, or a moment that changed me forever. To me, my life has become this way after a series of moments, and collection of memories.

There are many people in my life that are really important to me, and of course there are a lot of people in my life that just aren’t. That’s normal. I remember meeting some of these people, but not in much detail honestly; most of these meetings were normal, run of the mill introductions with little significance. It was what happened with these people after the fact that mattered.

For example, I don’t remember meeting Jimmy, it just happened. And we became best friends as a series of moments built up over time. This was true for most of my friends, especially the guys of Avenged. And the girls that hung around with us all of the time, like Val, Michelle, and Olivia, and the guys that we wouldn’t be able to have our band without, like the Berry Brothers.

Maybe I’m a pessimist for looking at the world this way. I’m not a believer in love at first sight or these magical moments that change a person forever. But that doesn’t mean it couldn’t happen- I just need proved wrong.


	2. 1

Olivia

It was a sweltering summer day, but here we were, crammed into my parents’ garage, watching the boys work on some of their new songs. I was feeling too hot and lazy to do much else anyways and it was always fun to watch them play, especially the man I’d had a crush on for years now.

It was crazy to think that just a few years back a couple of high school boys smoking cigarettes in my parents’ garage decided to start a band, and now here they were, playing amazing new music and preparing for their upcoming gigs. I knew my brother was talented of course, but hearing him sing made me so happy, even when the songs he was singing were anything but. I could tell his girlfriend, Val, felt the same way as she smiled at him from the couch where we were lounging. I loved seeing them together because it made me have faith in love. Not that I was getting any, but still.

They were practicing a new song, which was a lot different from their music in the past, but I loved it so much more. Matt had decided he didn’t want to scream as much anymore and I was glad. He had an amazing voice and I thought it would be good for him and the band in the long run if he started singing more and screaming less. I always had my opinions about the band, which I tried to keep to myself most of the time, but as their “manager,” this was my job. I wasn’t really a manager of course, since no one paid me, but since I helped them find their first few gigs when they started out, they gave me the title, more as a joke than anything else.

“What do you think?” I heard my brother ask Val, sitting in between us on the couch when they were finished.

“It’s awesome!” she said, snuggling into him.

“Yuck, you’re all sweaty,” I said, getting off the couch and immediately smacking into Brian.

“Watch it, girlie,” he chuckled at me and I turned red. He looked so sexy smirked down at me and I wanted to die in embarrassment.

“OK!” Jimmy suddenly yelled, distracting everyone. “IT’S TIME TO PARTY!”

“It’s only 4 o’clock, Jimbo,” Brian said.

“PARTY TIME!” he responded, standing up from behind his drum set and kicking into the air. I couldn’t help but laugh at his antics. As always, Jimmy was acting silly, making all of us laugh.

“Not yet, Rev,” Matt said. “Michelle will kill us if we show up too early. And I’m thinking 4pm is too early, right Val?”

“Probably!” she laughed. “Especially seeing that she said come over at 9!”

“Well fuck that I’m starting now!” Jimmy exclaimed, opening the garage fridge and grabbing a beer. The guys followed suit, laughing along with him.

“Then I’m going to help Michelle get ready. Come on, Liv,” Val said to me.

\---

Michelle and Val’s new apartment wasn’t huge, so I really didn’t know how this party tonight was going to go. We all wanted to celebrate the guys finishing up their small tour and starting a new album. Matt had told me they needed to party now before things got more “serious,” but we all knew that was bullshit. This was just the first of many parties we’d be having while the guys were here instead of out on the road. Next time we’d probably claim it’s a housewarming party for the girls, even if it wasn’t the first party at their place. Eventually we’d run out of excuses like these, but we’d still have fun.

Michelle was picking up the living room when Val and I walked in and I sighed. I honestly wasn’t looking forward to spending the afternoon with the twins, but I had promised I’d help get ready for the party with them, even though I probably wouldn’t be much help anyways. Val was one of my best friends and had been for a long time, but Michelle was never one of my favorite people. Though she and her sister were similar in a lot of ways, Michelle was a lot more, well, rambunctious I guess. And flirtatious. Especially with Brian, which pissed me off.

She and Brian had this on-again, off-again “relationship,” if you could even call it that. They hooked up every once in awhile, and though Michelle acted like that’s all she wanted, we all knew she would drop everything and anyone for Brian. In a way I couldn’t blame her, but at the same time, I just wanted her to forget about him and move on. It would help me out, anyways.

“Hey girls,” Michelle said as we came in. “I’m finishing up here. I need you to help me pick an outfit for tonight!”

“Just wear that,” I said. She had on short-shorts and a cute black tank.

“Uh,” she scoffed at me. “That might be good enough for you, but there’s gonna be a bunch of hotties here I need to impress! And Brian, of course!”

I almost rolled my eyes at her, but it wasn’t worth pissing her off. I was wearing a similar outfit and could be easily offended by her, but she wasn’t worth it. So I just plopped down on the couch and said, “Well I clearly won’t be any help. Let me know if you need me.”

“Whatever, Olivia. Come on, sissy,” she said, pulling Val into her room.

While the twins picked out clothes in Michelle’s room, I was lost in thought. This party tonight would probably end up having a lot of people at it and I honestly wasn’t looking forward to it. I wasn’t horrible with crowds or anything, but I definitely was better with people one-on-one. I always ended up coming across bitchy because I was quiet, even though that was never my intention with people. I would probably just hanging out with Zacky as usual. He was always super nice to me and looked out for me, which I appreciated. He knew me better than most people and could tell when I needed rescued from an awkward social situation.

Tonight, though, I wanted to try and hang out with Brian as much as possible. Since they had returned from their latest bout of gigs, I promised myself that it was time to stop thinking about all of the “what-ifs.” When they were gone I had missed them all so much and it made me realize that I couldn’t wait on Brian to make the move anymore. Sooner than later they would probably become more and more famous, leaving more and more often, and I couldn’t sit back waiting on him to return just so I could stare at him from across the room while he flirted with other girls. It was stupid, and I was getting too old for it now. I wasn’t just some high school kid who had a crush on her brother’s friend anymore.

I knew with a little liquid courage I could flirt and maybe make a move. I didn’t necessarily plan on confessing my love by any means, but maybe some touching, some kissing? The thought along gave me a stomach full of nerves. I would probably be too chicken shit.

-0-

Zacky

When the girls left I cracked open my first can of cheap beer for the day, taking in the cool liquid. It felt so great to drink after playing all day in this god awful heat. I was ready to relax tonight and drink with my friends. It had been a while since we had a good party and I knew tonight would be wild. Johnny was already talking about all of the people he invited, and though we joked that he was a liar with no friends, we knew they’d come. He always invited all of these mysterious people to our parties, which sometimes made it more fun, sometimes not. But, hell, it was always interesting.

Johnny was joking with Brian about Michelle, asking if he would hook up with her again tonight. Brian shrugged, “Eh, I might want to try something new tonight.”

Brian had such an easy time with girls, it killed me. I typically didn’t struggle too much, but I actually had to make some effort, where he could just smirk and they’d come running. When we were on tour it was easier, because a lot of girls want to hook up with guys in bands, and though I may have indulged once or twice, I couldn’t do it forever. Especially when the girl I really wanted was back at home.

While we were on tour I wondered about what she was doing or if she was seeing anyone. I wondered if she missed us, or just her brother. I knew she saw me as a good friend, but I couldn’t help but hope that my absence made her realize she wanted more. When we came back, though, that didn’t seem to be the case. Honestly, she paid more attention to Brian than anyone else when we got back. Go figure.

I wasn’t sure what her deal with him was. I had always noticed how she’d flirt with him, but I refused to worry about it. He usually ignored her advances anyways, or, if he would flirt back, it was only when Matt wasn’t around. If she was into him it would really piss me off, but who knew if anything would come of it. It would really surprise me if Syn settled down with anyone in the near future. We all just kind of figured he’d end up with Michelle by default.

The guys and I goofed around for awhile and had a couple more beers before decided we should probably get ready for the party. I was looking forward to going and hanging out with Olivia. No matter how the parties we had went, she and I always ended up together at some point. Usually it’s because she gave me awkward looks from across the room as guys hit on her or she was introduced to new people. She wasn’t great in those sorts of situations, so I’d usually snag her away and end up spending my evening with her. I loved it, though. I just needed her to see that. I needed her to see that it was more of a friendship to me.

Our band was going to be huge one day, we all knew. Things had been going so well for us lately and we had so many ideas. I knew that I had to do something about this, and soon. If I didn’t who knew if I’d ever get the chance. Sure, she was Matt’s sister, but it’s not like she’d come on tour with us and drop her whole life for our band, especially when she started going to college not too long ago. If I wanted to make her mine, I needed to make my move. And I was going to do it tonight


	3. 2

Olivia

I was going to need a lot of beer to make it through this party. I was a beer girl for sure; liquor was not good for me. Though when I got drunk on beer I usually ended up making an ass of myself, liquor was a sure recipe for disaster. So as the boys of Avenged and some of our closest friends poured their first shots of the night, I declined, opening up my first can of cheap beer instead. Though I knew I would probably need to be a little tipsy to make my move tonight, I wasn’t trying to be shitfaced.

Everyone looked so great and I regretted not caring about my appearance more. Though my hair looked good with its loose, natural waves and blunt, straight bangs, I probably should’ve put on more makeup or something. Val and Michelle were stunning with their liner and bright red lipstick, but I just was my plain self. I guess, though, that I was really only looking to impress one guy tonight and he already knew the real me. It didn’t help my confidence, though, as I watched him flirt with Michelle right in front of me.

“Here’s to our first party at the greatest apartment ever!” Val exclaimed and we all raised our drinks. Immediately after, Johnny flipped on the music, blaring punk rock into the apartment.

“Jesus,” Val said, turning down the music. “No one let Johnny pick songs tonight. We want to dance!” She then changed it over to something more party-worthy.

I started my night talking with Matt the twins, laughing as more and more people walked in. The twins would try and ask me if I thought each guy that walked in was cute, obviously trying to get me laid for the night, but I ignored them, waving off their questions. This became easier and easier to do as I drank more and more beer and as Matt told them it was gross to talk about his sister that way over and over again. Eventually this got old, I was getting drunk, and I wanted to dance. So, I left them, heading my way over to the massive group of people that had formed in the middle of their apartment.

The music was thumping through me and I swayed, feeling the rhythm through my whole body. Sweat started to bead on my back and forehead but I welcomed the heat. People all around me were dancing, gyrating against one another, but I swayed amongst them alone without a care in the world. The several beers I had drank already certainly helped the situation, and man I was feeling good.

After a few songs, I moved away from the dance floor, not interested in the new tune. Instead, I averted my attention to getting more to drink. As I walked towards the coolers where we had put all of the beers, I had to squeeze between a big crowd of people. I knew this party was going to have a lot of guests, but it was starting to piss me off how many random strangers were here right now. But, I needed a beer and that was more important.

Once I finally got my beer, I felt a hand on my back and I whipped around, expecting to see a random guy trying to hit on me, but it was Brian.I was surprised to see him next to me, let alone touching my back, right above my ass. I giggled as he smirked at me, brows raised.

“You looked good out there, Liv,” he flirted, leading me away from the coolers and towards an empty spot across the room. Normally I would be embarrassed, but my plan of using liquid courage was working.

“Is that right?” I said back, moving closer towards him. I could smell is cologne and cigarettes.

He chuckled. “I couldn’t help but watch you over there.”

“Well maybe you should do more than just watch me,” I said, moving my hand to his arm. It felt good to be this bold.

“Oh?” he said, smirking again. I could tell he liked flirting with me like this, which made me feel confident and sexy as hell, even with no makeup on.

“Dance with me,” I said, tugging at him, trying to lead him to the dance floor.

“Oh no, Liv, that’s not happening,” he laughed, pulling back slightly.

“You need more beer. Or Jack.”

He laughed again, “Maybe I do. Or maybe just more convincing.” When he said this, he leaned towards me, placing his hands around my waist. I almost fell back from drunkenness and delight.

“Let me show you what I can do.”

I led Brian to the dance floor just as one of my favorite songs began to play. He hung close to me, hands on my hips the whole time as we moved to the beat. It was awkward at first, and it was clear to me that he wasn’t the best dancer in the world, but I did not care at all. I had him right behind me, pressing himself against me as I moved and I knew he was into it. That’s all I needed. Just the simple fact that I could tell he wanted me, that he liked how I moved against me was better than anything in the world. I could have done this all night. Feeling him there, touching me, breathing against my neck as we rocked to the music.

“Brian, what the fuck?” I heard her say from behind us, breaking the spell.

“Michelle?” I slurred.

“You were supposed to come have a smoke with me and go on a beer run, not act like an idiot here with Olivia,” she spat, rolling her eyes.

“Ah, yes. I’m coming,” he said, moving his hands away from me. “Sorry, Liv.” He gave me an awkward smile then, which wasn’t something I was used to from him. Was he embarrassed?

Michelle grabbed him, he waved goodbye, and just like that he was gone. I was pissed. That was the closest contact I ever had with him and after all of these years of attempting to get that far I finally did it! I should’ve been proud of myself, but I wanted more. I wanted more and I wanted it to happen when I was sober too.

I needed air, so I walked away from the dance floor and headed towards the balcony. Luckily Brian and Michelle had gone out front for their smoke and out to get more drinks for the party so I didn’t have to face them again for awhile. I started to feel embarrassed. Michelle said we looked like idiots. Was that because she was jealous or what? Dancing out there like that just wasn’t something I normally would have done without being drunk and now I just felt stupid.

Outside the summer night air felt great, especially against the heat of the party. I took a deep breath, closing my eyes as I calmed myself down. I took another sip of my beer, not really wanting my buzz to die. I could feel the embarrassment begin to wash away as I drank.

Behind me I heard the door open to the apartment. I sighed, not really ready for my alone time to end, but as I turned, I saw it was just Zack.

-0-

Zacky

When the party began there were only about 10 people at the twins’ house, but as time passed, more and more people began to flood in until eventually there was hardly any room to move at all. But, as usual, the guests managed to create a dance floor in the middle of the party and people were grinding all over each other like mad. From the back corner of the party where I stood with Syn, Johnny, and Matt, I watched people we knew dance around with random strangers, making fools out of themselves. We couldn’t help but lose our shit when we noticed Jimmy make his way through the crowd of dancers, swinging himself around a bunch of people. I think he was attempting to look like a ninja was was miserably failing. No one paid any attention to him, which surprised me since he almost smacked into everyone near him.

“Oh, Jesus…” I heard Matt say eventually after our bout of laughter. He was laughing slightly as he said it, placing his head in his hands like he was embarrassed. When I looked back over to the crowd, I saw why.

Olivia was swinging gracefully on the dancefloor, arms swaying and hips shaking. She looked incredible as she moved around, shaking her ass back and forth. My mouth dropped and I couldn’t help but stare. She was looking sexy anyways, in her short shorts and Metallica tank, and the dancing just took it to the next level.

“Damn,” I head Gates say, almost more to himself than anyone. And then suddenly he was on the move without another word.

“What the fuck is he doing?” Matt said, looking at me with his brows raised. I shrugged, looking back to Liv. But, she had moved from her spot and I lost track of her.

Michelle walked up to us at that point, looking pouty. “Where did Brian go? He said he’d join me for a smoke and beer run.”

“No idea,” I said, but I wasn’t really paying attention. Michelle, Johnny, and Matt began talking about random shit for a moment, and though I heard them mention Brian again, I wasn’t listening. Because when I turned my gaze back to the dance floor to maybe see Olivia again, I was faced with a devastating sight.

There was Brian, grinding with her. He had his fucking hands all over her and she was loving it, I could tell. The way she leaned into him, closing her eyes as they swayed. I wanted to punch him.

“What the fuck?” I heard Michelle say when she noticed it as well. She stormed off towards them. She was going to beat me to it, I guess.

“Gates and your little sis?” Johnny said, smacking Matt’s arm. He responded by rolling his eyes, but he didn’t say anything.

I kept watching as Michelle broke them apart. Olivia looked slightly embarrassed throughout the exchange, Brian looked annoyed, and Michelle was pissed. Eventually Michelle stole Gates away from Liv, and she turned away to walk outside. I didn’t know what was happening, but I couldn’t let it continue. If I wanted this to be the night where I tried to make things happen with her, I couldn’t stand back and watch Gates take her away from me. While he wasn’t around I needed to talk to her, to at least see what the fuck that was all about.

I headed over towards the balcony where she was standing, gazing out towards the lovely view of the parking lot below the apartment. She looked different now, sad almost, as she took a big swig of her beer.

“Hey there,” I said quietly as I walked out, closing the door behind me. She turned and smiled, waving. “Are you alright?”

“Oh I’m totally fine!” she lied, burping. Then she groaned and rolled her eyes at herself. “Sorry... my god.”

I laughed. “Are you drunk?”

“Not as much as I was a few minutes ago,” she grumbled, looking back at her beer. I wasn’t sure how I was supposed to take that one.

“Speaking of that,” I said, “You and Haner?” I didn’t think I needed to say anymore.

She laughed, “What do you mean? You saw that he left with Michelle.”

I didn’t say anything then, not really wanting to press the issue at the moment. Instead, I walked closer to her and I put my hand on her back. She didn’t flinch, so that was a start, but she turned towards me, her big doe eyes confused.

“I didn’t like it,” I confessed to her, not really knowing what else to say. I felt like I was going to puke. She was so gorgeous, even when she was tipsy, and I felt like there was no way she would go for me at the moment. Maybe Syn pissed her off enough that I could sweep in like her knight in shining armor but seeing the sadness in her eyes made me much less confident in that idea.

She didn’t respond, so I said, “I just don’t want him to hurt you.” She sighed, so I moved my hand up her back to comfort her. She leaned into my touch a bit and closed her eyes and I took advantage of the moment and leaned closer to her. She was so close and all I wanted to do was kiss her. I moved my arms around her and she didn’t fight me on it, but opened her blue eyes and looked up at me. I always melted when she gave me that look with her beautiful eyes. That was it; I couldn't wait anymore.

I closed my eyes and I leaned in to kiss her. I know it surprised her as our lips touched because she tensed up slightly, so I took it easy, trying not to move too quickly. She relaxed after a moment and I felt her body fall into me. I wrapped my arms around her tighter then as I kissed her more, grazing my tongue against her soft lips. She opened her mouth just enough to let me in and our tongues danced timidly. Her hands ran up my back and I moaned into her touch.

She broke away then, stepping back from me a bit. She wasn’t looking at me, but at her feet, as if she was still in slight shock.

“Liv, I-” I started, but she put up her hands.

“I gotta go,” she said quickly, walking away and making me feel like an utter fool.


	4. 3

Brian

I couldn’t get her off of my mind, even as Michelle yapped away about random shit that I knew I should be listening to since she’d yell at me for not paying attention. But the way her hips felt against mine was much better to think about.

Olivia Sanders had crossed my mind more than once, sure, but I never let myself indulge in dirty thoughts too often. She was my friend’s sister, after all, and I just didn’t want to go there. Part of me was turned on by the forbidden aspect of it all, but the more realistic side of me put that aside, knowing that nothing would ever come of it. She was gorgeous and I wouldn’t deny myself the pleasure of noticing that, but that was all it ever was. She’d flirt with me on occasion, albeit badly, and though I liked to flirt back, I never did it when Matt was around. He could have a temper at times and I didn’t want to see how he would react to that.

But, damn she was sexy tonight. She never wore much makeup and her hair was was wild and wavy, but I loved that about her. She didn’t need to doll herself up, she was just beautiful on her own. And tonight, in her simple shorts and tank top, she looked amazing. I couldn’t help but stare at her as she swung her hips around, her tight ass moving back and forth. It was a side of her that I wasn’t sure to seeing and it had be awestruck. Who knew shy little Livy could be so damn sexy?

I didn’t even realize it when I was walking over to her, it was like I was being pulled by some unknown force. And flirting with her, dancing with her, taking her in... wow. I couldn’t get it off of my mind. I’d never been so consumed with a memory like this before.

Michelle was still yammering about something, and she was finally starting to notice that I didn’t really care. “What is up with you tonight? You’re being weird.”

Maybe I was, though I didn’t really feel like I was being different than usual. Distracted, maybe, but not weird. “I’m fine, Michelle.”

“I don’t know…” she started, “First you’re dancing with Olivia, who you usually never give the time of day, and now you’re ignoring me.”

“Sorry,” I said, not really caring to defend myself. I lit up another cigarette and offered her one to shut her up.

We were almost back now from our beer run, and though it was a little awkward carrying the beer and my cigarette at the same time, I was glad for the smoke to calm my nerves. Maybe I was being a little weird; I didn’t know why I felt shaken up suddenly. What was this girl doing to me?

When we got back to the party, we dropped off the beers in the coolers, and I instantly walked away from Michelle, refusing to deal with her for the rest of the night. I knew this pissed her off, but I didn’t care. Her intentions were probably for us to hook up tonight, but I wasn’t in the mood for her at the moment.

I found Jimmy and Johnny talking with some random strangers, and they looked very confused by their antics, making me smile. My interruption allowed them to escape from the conversation.

“Synyster fucking Gates,” Jimmy said, slurring his words. He was hammered. “Olivia fucking Sanders.”

I laughed. So he had noticed, too. “What about it?” I said, trying to remain cool.

“You were having fun, eh?” he said, nudging my arm. I laughed, shrugging. “But alas, it seems twas to no avail!”

I gave him a confused look and he pointed out towards the balcony. There I saw her and Zacky together, his arms around her. And then they were kissing, and she wasn’t pushing back at all. What the fuck?

“Uh…” I didn’t really know what to say. Wasn’t she into me? Or was she just drunk?

“Zacky’s been trying to tap that for years now,” Johnny said with a laugh, probably too loud.

“Really? I had no idea.” I really didn’t. I wasn’t sure if that was true or if it was just Johnny being, well, Johnny.

“Oh, to be star-crossed lovers!” Jimmy exclaimed, raising his drink in the air and spilling half of it on Johnny.

“Jesus, Rev,” Johnny said, walking away to clean up his leather jacket.

I was trying to play it cool as I looked at Zack and Liv on the balcony kissing, but it really pissed me off. She was just with me, and she was obviously into me. She’d been flirting with me for years, and the way she pulled me into her to dance. What was that all about if she was just going to go make out with one of my best friends?

As the rage started to boil, she pulled away from him, somewhat suddenly. I was intrigued. She put up her hands and walked away from him, leaving him stranded like a fool. I felt bad for my friend, then, as he stood there alone. If it was true what Johnny said, then he was probably crushed. But Olivia, when she came back into the party, looking flushed, had a look of pure confusion on her face and looked totally overwhelmed. She walked through the crowd and around the dance floor towards her brother. She didn’t talk to him long before she started towards the door, looking upset.

I didn’t want her to leave. I wanted to touch her again, to dance with her again. I followed her, calling after her, but she didn’t hear me and walked out the door.

-0-

Olivia

What. Just. Happened.

I felt like I couldn’t breathe. I was glad that I escaped the party and the chaos of the evening, but as I walked home, I kind of regretted leaving alone. I was still a little tipsy, but most of my buzz had left me, especially after that kiss.

That kiss.

Never in a million years would I have expected Zacky to kiss me. I never thought he saw me in that way. Honestly, I thought he saw me more as a sister than anything else. Maybe I just assumed that because we hung out with my brother most of the time, but apparently I was blind. Was it something he had wanted for awhile, or just something fueled by jealous when seeing Brian and I dancing?

Brian. The thought of him was still plaguing my mind. Thinking of him dancing with me, feeling him getting excited as I swayed my hips against him, still turned me on like crazy. I wanted to just go back to the moment and revel it in a little longer, but of course I couldn’t. Nothing could be simple.

It’s not that I was mad at Zack for kissing him. I mean, it was a good kiss, honestly. It was sweet and gentle. I could tell he didn’t want to hurt me or force me into anything I wasn’t ready for, which made me feel like this was more than just something done in jealousy. I touched my fingers to my lips as I thought about it, almost smiling. I was just so confused by it all. Part of my didn’t want to like the kiss. As long as I could remember, all I ever wanted was to be with Brian. But this kiss with Zack, that really nice kiss….

“Olivia!” someone shouted from behind me. I was almost a block away from the apartment now, and as I turned, I saw him running towards me.

“Brian?”

-0-

Zacky

I didn’t really know what to do now. I felt like an idiot standing there, and I’m sure people saw us kissing and her walking away. I guess I needed to face the music now; standing there looking at where she was made me look even dumber.

I walked back into the chaos of the party and was happy to see that no one was paying attention to me. I felt like I should try and find her and explain myself, but at the same time, I wanted to crawl in a hole and never look at her again. So, instead, I found Matt, and Val, figuring I could just avoid the issue all together.

“Zacky, what just happened?” Val said when I walked up to them.

“What do you mean?” I asked, not knowing if she saw happened outside.

“Liv just took off from the party. She wouldn’t let me walk her home. I just saw you guys together on the porch but I didn’t know why she just left.” Matt said. So I’m assuming that meant he didn’t see us kissing. If he had he probably would’ve punched me by now anyways. I should’ve avoided him too.

“Uh, she might be mad at me, but I don’t want to talk about it,” I said. I couldn’t even face them. She left the party all together because of me? Jesus, I was an idiot for thinking this would work. Was she really that hung up on Gates that she couldn’t even give me the time of day, or was she just drunk and overwhelmed? She probably shouldn’t wander off alone, and I’m surprised Matt let her, honestly. I probably should go after her…

Michelle walked up to us then, a mad look on her face. “Brian just took off,” she said, “Chasing after Olivia like some puppy. What’s going on with them?”

Now I was screwed. There was no way in hell I could go after now. I didn’t want to think about what I would even try and say. “Hey, Gates, fuck the back off so I can make Olivia extremely uncomfortable again!” Uh, no.

“I have no idea,” Val said, giving me a look. I think she was catching on to what was happening. I’m not sure what all she saw when she noticed us on the balcony.

“Well, that’s good,” Matt said. “Now I don’t have to worry about her walking alone. I was thinking about going after her myself.”

“Aw, such a great big bro. Maybe you should still and tell Bri to come back,” Michelle said.

“Nah. He’ll walk her home.” Matt was oblivious.

“Zack, are you sure you’re OK?” Val asked me.

“I’ll live.” I guess it was true. I had no idea what would happen but there was nothing I could do, was there? But my God if Syn hurt her I would kick his ass.

This sucked. What if he did hurt her, pissing me off, and then what? What would happen between Syn and I, and our band? Could I really mess with all of that, or should I just be the better man and let it go for the sake of the band and my career? It was hard to think of all of that when all I wanted to do was chase after Olivia again, but what would that even solve? It’s not like I could force her into loving me; that was sick. All I could do was wait, I guess, and freak the fuck out over what the hell is going on with her and Gates.


	5. 4

Olivia

“Brian?”

He was walked towards me then, a little slower than before, sticking his hands in his pocket and looking sheepish.

“I saw you leave the party alone and just wanted to make sure you were OK,” he said simply, shrugging. He wouldn’t look me in the eye, which was odd. Normally he was cool and collected and had an arrogance to him that I couldn’t help but love. But now, he was acting kind of weird and I didn’t know why.

“Oh, yeah. I’m good,” I said awkwardly. We just stood there for a moment, not really knowing what to say.

“Well, uh, do you want me to walk you home? I mean, I know it’s not far and everything, but it’s night and…”

“Yeah, that would be nice,” I said, cutting him off. “Are you OK?”

He laughed, “Yeah, I’m fine.”

We started walking in silence then, and the awkwardness began to melt away. I looked over to Brian as he lit up a cigarette. He offered me one but I shook my head saying, “No thank you.”

He chuckled at me again, “I forgot that you’re a good girl.”

The way he said that gave me butterflies. “I’m not as good as you think I am,” I teased.

“Yeah, I saw that side of you tonight, that’s for sure,” he responded with a smirk. I couldn’t help but smile a little bit, loving how he was looking at me. But, to my dismay, he then said, “Especially seeing you and Zacky together. Wasn’t expecting that one.”

The way he said it was odd. I think he was trying to play it off and as joke but it came across a little too mean and it threw me off. “You saw that?”

“Yeah,” was all he said, not looking at me.

“I’m not really sure what happened there,” I admitted, though I wasn’t sure if I should say much more. I was still feeling so conflicted about it all. I didn’t want to say anything bad about Zack, especially not to one of his best friends, but I also didn’t want Brian to think I was invested in Zack either. Though at this point I really had no idea.

This was all just so crazy to me. The thought of being with Zack was nice, though I didn’t feel extremely passionate. Throughout the years Zack had always been so nice to me, always going out of his way to do things for me and to make me laugh. Maybe this was Zack trying to get my attention throughout these years and I just hadn’t noticed, just like Brian was with me. It made me feel guilty, honestly, especially because my heart still longed for Brian deep down. But I didn’t know where I stood with Brian, especially now; he was acting stranger than ever.

“What do you mean?” he asked me, finally looking my way.

“He surprised me, is all. I wasn’t expecting it,” I told him honestly.

“Is that why you left the party?”

“Kind of,” I said. “I just felt a little overwhelmed with that on top of being a little drunk.”

Brian smiled at me, “You may have been more than a little drunk, Sanders.”

I glared, “I was fine! Just tipsy.”

He shook his head, “With how you were with me I would’ve thought you were more than tipsy.”

That bothered me. Did he really think that the only way I could act sexy and confident was when I was drunk? “Like I said, I’m not the good girl you think I am. I don’t need to be drunk to have a good time,” I told him, defending myself.

“It’s just a side of you I haven’t seen,” he said, looking away from me with a small smile. “What are you going to do now?”

“I have no idea,” I said. “Sober up and sleep. That’s the first step.”

He nodded and was quiet for a moment. We continued to walk along and were getting close to my apartment now.

“Just don’t leave him hanging, I guess,” he said then. “I don’t know about what Zack wants out of it or anything, but just let him know how you feel. It think it would suck to not know how someone feels about you.”

Tell me about it. I almost laughed out loud thinking of the irony of what he just said. “I won’t. I am not sure how I feel. I never knew he had any interest in me at all.”

“According to Johnny, he’s been pining over you for years.”

“Johnny saw too?” I asked, now worrying about who else saw what happened. I didn’t want Zack to be embarrassed by me running away. I felt like such a bitch.

“And Jimmy. But I’m not sure anyone else noticed.”

I sighed and Brian asked me what was wrong. “I just feel guilty for leaving like that.”

“It’s understandable. Like you said, you were surprised. I’m sure once you talk to him he’ll understand.”

“I’m just not sure what I’m going to say. I don’t want to hurt him,” I said, looking to Brian.

We were approaching my apartment complex now and were walking through its parking lot. I didn’t want to say goodbye to him just yet. Being around him made me happy, even when we were talking about something like this. The whole point of tonight was to get him to notice me, to understand that I wanted him. I promised myself that I was going to do this tonight, and as my apartment building came into view, I knew it was now or never.

“It’s just hard. He’s a great friend and I like him, of course, just not in the way he might want me to. And I feel bad because I know exactly how that feels,” I said to him, trying to hint at what I really wanted to say.

“You do?” he said, looking at me with a confused look. We were at my door now.

“There’s a reason I wanted to dance with you tonight, Brian, and not him,” I said, my heart pounding so fast I thought I’d pass out. I couldn’t look him in the eye, and so I stared at the ground, waiting for him to say something.

“Is that right?” he asked, taking a step closer to me. I looked up at him and he was smirking at me, which made me melt as always. “I’m not sure that’s the same situation.”

“What do you mean?” I asked quietly.

He was getting closer to me and was staring into my eyes. He placed his hand on my face, tilting my head up closer to his. “Because, “ he whispered, “When you stopped dancing with me tonight all I could think about was how I wanted more of you.”

My legs felt like jello. He was so close to me now and was leaning even closer, closing the gap between us as he pressed his lips against mine. I felt like I was melting into him and I almost fell back, but luckily the door was there to catch me. Brian used that to his advantage, pressing himself against me and kissing me harder. Our hands roamed each others bodies and I couldn’t help but moan. It was the most amazing feeling, his lips against mine, and I felt my whole body burn with lust, passion, and desire.

Brian broke away from me for a moment and I whispered, “Come inside.”

He grinned at me, licking his lips. As I got my keys and went to unlock the door he was still grabbing me, kissing my neck, making me shiver. “I’d love to.”

-0-

Zack

The party was winding down now. After Olivia left and Gates followed, Michelle was in such a snit that she was being rude to a lot of the people there, even her good friends. People, not wanting to deal with her shit, started to leave. Val was trying to talk to her and calm her down, but the strangers didn’t want to listen to the drama and I didn’t blame them.

“Michelle, you’re not even boyfriend and girlfriend,” I heard Val tell her.

“Sure, but we basically are!” Michelle said. “We have a connection.”

Val sighed. I could tell she wanted to talk sense into her sister but didn’t want to hurt her feelings. Brian didn’t care about Michelle as much as she cared about him, which honestly made me mad. He was usually only with her when he couldn’t be with anyone else, and she would drop anything to be with him. He used that to his advantage and I think it made him a dick, honestly. He just needed to be straight with her and tell her no for once. I think he was scared of her and how she would react, which I knew was reasonable, especially now that I saw her freaking out over him walking Olivia home.

Valary put her arms around Michelle. “I want you to be realistic, Chelle. You’re not dating so he’s not really bound to you. You have the right to be upset, but you need to calm down a little, OK?”

If any of us had said that to her, she probably would’ve freaked out, but her twin was able to calm her down. She nodded, hugging her sister.

“Michelle, there’s plenty of hot guys that would be with ya if you just forget about that chump Gates,” Johnny said to her, winking. She rolled her eyes and punched him in the arm.

At this point now it was just the guys, Val and Michelle. We were all sitting around the living room, drinking the last of the beers and we started talked about all of the crazy moments of the night. At first Liv wasn’t brought up at all, but of course Johnny had to ruin it all.

“Zacky and Liv out on the porch, yeah?” he said laughing. Matt gave me a look.

“Shut up, short shit,” I said with a glare.

“Aw someone’s sad they got left behind?” Johnny responded, pissing me off.

“What are you talking about?” Matt asked.

“Zack and your baby sis were making out on the balcony earlier,” Johnny said.

“What?!” Matt exclaimed, more surprised than anything else. “Is that why she left?”

I knew he didn’t ask to offend me but it still stung. Yes, I must have repulsed her so much that she took off.

“Man, she got around tonight,” Michelle said, rolling her eyes. “First grinding with Bri and then making out with you.”

I didn’t say anything, still. The whole thing was so embarrassing. This is why I waited as long as I did to make a move. I was avoiding shit like this!

“Zack, she was really drunk,” Val said. “She probably left because she was overwhelmed and confused by everything.”

I shrugged, just wanting the topic to change desperately.

“What are you going to do, man?” Johnny said.

“He must win her love!” Jimmy said, jumping up from his spot on the floor. “I will help you!”

“Oh, Jimmy, I’m good, really,” I said, not really wanting to know what was going through his mind. Sometimes his plans were more crazy than anything else.

“You are NOT good, Zack! I will help you!” Jimmy said again, but then he fell down on the floor. “Just not right now!”

We all laughed. He was too drunk to stand and probably wouldn’t remember this in the morning. I was hoping the same of the rest of my friends, but I probably wouldn’t be that lucky. At least Jimmy’s fall helped change the topic of whether or not we were sober enough to make it home.

We all decided to stay at the apartment that night because we were too drunk to drive and too cheap to get a cab. As we all got ready for bed, Matt stopped me, away from everyone else.

“Look, man,” he started, placing his hand on my shoulder. He made me nervous; I couldn’t tell if he was going to punch me or not. “I don’t know what your intentions are, but just don’t hurt her.”

“Never,” I said, meaning it. That was the last thing I would ever want to do.

No matter what came from all of this, her happiness was important to me. I was still worried about what would happen between her and Gates, but if something was going on, I would accept it if that’s what she wanted. I might not be happy about it, but I’d have to. She’s my friend, her brother is my friend,and Syn is my friend. The band and the friendships were more important than jealousy. Of course I hoped that she would be mine one day, and I would probably always think that, but I would just have to wait and see.


	6. 5

Brian

She was sleeping next to me, her soft breasts moving up and down and she breathed deeply. I couldn’t help but stare, taking in her beauty. The sheet of the bed was lazily draped around her, but still exposed her chest and long, smooth legs. She was so beautiful and looked to peaceful sleeping there, so much different than she had been just a moment before.

When the door finally opened, I let her go for just a moment so we could walk in, but as soon as it was shut again, I was all over her, kissing her hard. I loved feeling her moan against my mouth, feeling her hands in my hair. She was driving me wild and it felt amazing.

She pulled me to her bedroom as we messily kissed on the way, miraculously making it without running into anything. As soon as we entered she slid her hands under my shirt and I let her help me guide it off. She looked at me and I could tell she was nervous then, as if what was happening really hit her. I kissed her more gently then, slowing myself down to calm her. “You sure?” I said, not wanting to push her into anything. I wanted her bad but didn’t want to force anything.

She nodded then, smiling at me and placing her hands on my bare chest. I kissed her again, gently at first, but then with more passion, putting things back into where they were before our pause. Clothes were removed then and soon we were naked, falling to the bed as we continued kissing, hands roaming each other’s bodies.

After the awkwardness of asking for and putting on a condom, I was inside of her, thrusting and moaning through the waves of pleasure. She looked so beautiful under me, eyes shut most of the time, mouth parted as she moaned with each thrust. She made me feel so good because I knew she was in so much pleasure and I could barely last, but I kept going, wanting so badly to please her.

Her hands drove me wild as they roamed my back and landed on my hips as I pushed into her, as if she was guiding me in and out. As I kissed her, I felt her clench around me and I knew she was reaching her peak. She moaned loudly, her back arching slightly as she came, her hands now clenching the bed sheets to steady her. I let myself go then, knowing that she had been satisfied, and came into her.

Afterwards we laid there, panting and sweating. I cleaned up awkwardly, not really knowing what to say. This was always the part that was weird; the passion was gone and now we were left with what just happened. I heard her sigh contently behind me and the rustling of sheets as she got ready for sleep.

Sometimes at this point I leave, especially if I don’t really know the girl, but Liv looked so beautiful; the afterglow of sex suited her. I decided to join her under the sheets then, which made her happy. I pulled her towards me, holding her against me, and we just stayed there in silence, enjoying each other until she fell alseep.

I smiled at the memory, which I usually didn’t do, but I couldn’t help myself. Our moment together wasn’t wild, wasn’t crazy, but it was wonderful. She was so gorgeous and made me feel great. But, I wondered, what more could come of this? As I laid there and watched her sleep I couldn’t think about the repercussions of our night together. What would Olivia expect from this, if anything at all? She had made it clear that she liked me for a while now, but I wasn’t sure what I wanted. I let my emotions take over, my lust. I should’ve thought things through a little more.

I laid down on my back then, not looking at her anymore. Closing my eyes, I sighed. I didn’t regret what happened, not at all. She was amazing, beautiful, and turned me on like crazy. But, I didn’t know if I was ready to commit to a relationship with the girl. I would have to deal with Matt’s protective brother shit, Michelle being jealous and clingy, and Zack. Shit, Zack. I was the biggest ass in the entire world. I didn’t even think about that before I jumped to the chance to have sex with her and that was shitty. He was going to kick my ass.

If I stayed tonight and was here in the morning, that would make it clear to her that I was invested in this, that I wanted to make it into something more than a one night stand. If I left now, it would be clear that I wanted the opposite. I’m not sure if I wanted either things, honestly, but I didn’t feel ready for the morning, for the conversation we would have. So, I got out of bed quietly as to not wake her, and I snuck out, getting dressed on the way. I just hoped she wouldn’t hate me.

-0-

Olivia

I woke up the next morning, headache already pounding from the night before. The sunlight that entered into my room bothered my eyes and I shut them again, flipping over to my back and stretching. That’s what made me realize that I was naked and that my bed was empty.

Brian.

Oh, my GOD! I slept with him last night! I grinned; I couldn’t help myself. Wow, it was so amazing, feeling him in that way. He satisfied me, made my whole body shake. Just thinking about it drove me crazy. But now he was gone.

I wasn’t sure what I expected really. Last night after we had sex, I almost expected him to leave, telling me it was a big mistake and that he should have never come in. But he didn’t, he stayed, cuddling with me even. We didn’t talk, but his hands moved up and down my body gently or played with my hair. It was sweet, honestly, and it ended up lulling me to sleep. It made me think that maybe he was interested in something more than just our moment of passion. But this morning my empty bed made me feel otherwise.

I didn’t really know what to feel. Part of me was still so happy over last night and so satisfied. But part of me way sad, because of course I want more than just a one night stand. Especially when it was as good as it was! I couldn’t help but feel upset thinking about seeing him again and having to deal with the awkwardness. I definitely didn’t regret sleeping with him; it was probably one of the best moments of my life. But, thinking about seeing him again made me nervous. What did I say? Did I just act like nothing happened? I didn’t think I could do that.

And of course there was Zack. Oh shit, what would he say? Maybe it would be best to keep this whole thing a secret after all, just to avoid Zack finding out and getting hurt. I felt like an ass, but at the same time, I was going to have to deal with this no matter what. Zack was great, and his kiss was amazing, but I just didn’t think I could be with him like I just was with Brian.

Maybe I was delusional, thinking like this. If Brian just used me for sex, how could I still let myself pine over him? I wasn’t a weak girl who let guys get to me like this usually, but I knew Brian would always have some sort of pull over me, whether I wanted him to or not. I was probably being an idiot for still choosing Brian over Zack, but I couldn’t force feelings that I didn’t have.

My phone buzzed then and I got out of bed, looking all over to find it. It was in my shorts pocket from the night before. It was a text from Val.

*Ur probs still asleep and or hung over but call me when you can.*

I chuckled at her text, but then felt worried. I wondered if this was about Zack. I decided to wait a moment to call her and took a shower, brushed my teeth, took some Advil, and got dressed. My headache was just a dull throb at least, so I thought I could handle the call then. I sat on my couch, towel wrapped around my wet hair, and called her.

“Hey, it’s Liv,” I said when she answered the phone.

“Hey, girl. I just wanted to call and see what happened last night. You make it home OK?”

I smiled, “Oh yeah, I made it home just fine.”

“Brian walked you?”

“Yep.” I didn’t want to say anything more.

“Ah ok, we weren’t sure where he ended up going. He never came back last night and all the guys ended up spending the night because they were too drunk to drive. Did Brian stay with you?”

I couldn’t lie and say he went home because he lived way too far away and didn’t have a car with him to drive. “Yeah, he ended up just staying here.”

“Hm.” Val acknowledged, but even though she didn’t say anything, I could tell she was putting two and two together. “So Zack told me what happened. Well, Johnny told everyone, but yeah.”

I sighed. “I feel bad about leaving him there like that, I just didn’t know what else to do. Was he upset?”

“He acted cool about it, but he didn’t look happy. Johnny made it seem like he’s liked you for a long time, Liv.”

“It was bad timing, Val,” I said, not knowing what else to say.

“Because of Brian? Was dancing all you did with him last night?”

I put my head in my hands. “I feel like I shouldn’t talk about it since he’s your friend too.”

“Fine. Let’s just put it this way: if I told Michelle about it, would she want to murder you?”

“Yes,” I said, sighing. She certainly would.

“Look, Liv. I know you’ve liked Brian for a long time, but I would be cautious. Whatever happened last night happened, that can’t change, but Brian isn’t the type of guy to stick around. Just look at him and Michelle. I love my sister, but I don’t like how she is with him and I don’t want you to do the same thing. It’s not fair.”

“I know,” I admitted. “Honestly I had an amazing night with him, but I don’t know where I stand now. All I know is that it’s either going to be a one night thing or a long term thing, nothing in between. I guess I’ll have to talk to him about it.”

“Did he stay all night?”

“No, he didn’t. He must have gotten a cab. He stayed with me until I fell asleep, but I’m not sure how long he stayed after.”

“Well, you’re right. You’ll have to talk to him. But, Liv, just be prepared. I feel like if he wanted more he would’ve been there in the morning,” she said gently, not wanting to hurt my feelings.

“Yeah, I know that. I’m going to be realistic. If a one night stand is all he wanted, then fine. I don’t regret it and won’t regret it at all, but if that’s all he wants, I’ll know that it didn’t mean much to him, and I’ll have to move on.”

“Good for you! And Zack?”

“Yeah, that’s the part I don’t know what to do about. I don’t want to hurt his feelings.”

“Well, I wouldn’t necessarily tell him about your hookup, but I wouldn’t leave the guy hanging. Just think: if you kissed Brian and he just walked away from you and left with another girl, how would you feel?”

“Probably pissed off and really stupid,” I said, sighing. I was such a bitch.

“Probably. Call him at least,” she said.

“OK, I will. Thanks, Val, for being on my side.”

“Of course! Talk to you later.”

I knew I would have to call Zack and probably talk to him in person at some point today. But, for now, I was going to avoid my issues, just a little while longer.


	7. 6

Zacky

Olivia had called me a few minutes ago, asking me to meet with her for lunch. She seemed really sheepish on the phone, awkwardly telling me that she wanted to see me and talk. I knew why she wanted to talk, but I didn’t know what she was going to say.

I had gotten back to the house that I shared with the guys about an hour before she called me and luckily I wasn’t hungover at all. Jimmy certainly was and was currently passed out on the couch because that’s as far as he made it. The rest of the guys, except Gates since I didn’t know where he was, had retreated back to their rooms to recover. I sat in the kitchen, drinking a cup of coffee while I tried to calm my nerves. Caffeine probably wasn’t the answer to my jitters, but I needed to wake up and get ready for this day. I was honestly dreading meeting up with Liv because it was going to be an awkward conversation, no matter what ended up happening.

I expected the worst, honestly, especially after she left with Gates last night. I still didn’t know where he was. He could be in his room, but I didn’t want to be a creep and look; he’d get mad at me for it. He could be at her apartment still, even. That thought pissed me off.

I had to be prepared, though. Rejection was of course a possibility. Last night I was in denial about that, thinking that I’d swoon her with my kisses and with my confidence I ignored the possibility that she wouldn’t be interested. Honestly, though, if I hadn’t, there’s no way I would’ve went through with it. And deep down I’m glad I did it. It may have been messy and a little awkward, but I had wanted to do it for so long that I was at least a little proud of myself for trying. It was such an amazing kiss, one that I had been dreaming about for years. I would let myself remember that moment, even if nothing else came of it.

I needed to shower and get dressed still, so I rinsed out my coffee cup and started to leave the kitchen. I didn’t make it far because I almost bumped into Syn. So, he was here after all. I could tell he’d been here awhile, had slept here; he was in pajamas and his hair clearly had signs of bed head. That was comforting.

“Oh, sorry, Gates. I didn’t see you.”

He just grunted. He wasn’t a morning person.

I decided to get some answers. “When did you get home last night?”

“Honestly, I don’t remember. Late.”

He clearly wasn’t in the mood to talk to anyone. He was making himself a cup of coffee, but I still wanted to know what happened. I wanted to know where I stood before I went to meet Liv.

“Did you end up walking Olivia home?”

He gave me a look then, but I couldn’t read it. He looked tired all around, but the look that he gave me almost seemed like… pity. He nodded in reply, that was it. I wasn’t going to get anything else from him until he had his coffee. Normally after a night with a girl, Syn wasn’t shy about telling me or anyone else what happened. But now he was being weird. It was either because nothing happened at all, or he just didn’t want to tell me. Maybe I was being paranoid.

I ended up walking away from him then, deciding that any answers I’d get would come from Liv today. She was easier to talk to about things like this. At least, she would be more straightforward. I didn’t feel like dealing with Syn’s bullshit right now.

I took a short shower, realizing I was running a little later that I planned now after my awkward conversation with my band mate. I got dressed, trying not to think too much into what I was wearing, fixed up my hair a bit, and headed out.

She and I were meeting at a little cafe that was near my place so I was able to walk over. It was hot out, but early enough in the day that the heat hadn’t reached its peak. When I reached the restaurant, she was already there, sitting at a little table outside under an umbrella. She looked beautiful.

She saw me coming and gave me a smile and small wave. “Hey there!”

I smiled back, taking a seat across from her. “Hey. How are you?”

“A little hungover, honestly,” she laughed. “Which is why I wanted to come here. They have the best breakfast.”

“It’s noon,” I laughed.

“Any time of day is breakfast time in my book.”

I laughed again, and I couldn’t help but smile as I looked at her. Her dark hair framed her face perfectly, and her eyes looked even more blue than usual today. Probably because of the cute blue dress she had on. It reminded me of the day that I met her.

We ordered drinks and food and talked about everything except what we came to talk about. It was nice, though, and I was happy to avoid the issue for a few more moments. After a while, as  
we were finishing up our meals, she sighed, and I knew it was time.

“Zack, we should probably talk about what happened last night,” she said, just jumping right to it. That was one thing I usually appreciated about her; she didn’t mess around or beat around the bush, she just got straight to business. Today, though, I almost wished she wasn’t doing that. I felt nervous, not knowing what to say.

“Look,” I started. “I want to at least say that I’m sorry if I made you uncomfortable.”

“I wanted to say I’m sorry too. For running out on you like that. It was a shitty thing to do.”

She was right, it was shitty. But I didn’t want her to feel bad. “I understand, though. It was a lot to process and you had been drinking.”

“It’s still no excuse to be a bitch,” she reply, laughing a little. I smiled back. “You were right though, I was a little overwhelmed by it all and didn’t know what to do. But leaving you like that wasn’t the nicest thing to do, so I’m sorry.”

“Thanks,” I said. I didn’t know what else to say. Her leaving me like that made me feel like she hated me for kissing her, but I couldn’t say that, not when she had just apologized. I just wanted to know if she was mad at me, if she was repulsed by my actions.

“I hope you aren’t mad at me,” I finally said after an awkward pause.

“Oh, Zack, I’m not. I promise,” she said, but wasn’t looking at me. Here it comes. “I just don’t know what to say. I don’t want to hurt you.”

“Just be honest with me.”

“I just don’t feel the same way,” she told me, still not looking at me.

I couldn’t help but feel my stomach knot up. The small part of me that had hoped she wouldn’t say that felt crushed, stomped on. I wanted to scream and hit the table, but I kept the childish reaction to her rejection inside. Instead I said, “I understand.” I couldn’t muster up anything else.

“I’m sorry, Zack. Brian said you had these feelings for awhile now. I had no idea, really.”

Brian? What the fuck did he know about my feelings? “When did you talk to Gates about me?” I asked, feeling myself getting defensive. I needed to keep calm.

“Oh, uh last night. He walked me home,” she said, blushing. She was biting her lip, too. I think she regretted what she had said, probably because she could tell it made me mad.

“I’m sure that made you happy,” I said with a laugh that was clearly fake.

Her brow furrowed. “Don’t be like that.”

I no longer cared about how she wanted me to be. She clearly didn’t care about me or what I wanted, so why should I care about being nice to her? “Oh, come on. The way you were dancing with him last night made that clear.”

“Zack-”

“Do you have feelings for him? Is that why?” I sounded like a child, jealous and unstable. I needed to know, though. I needed to know why I wasn’t good enough.

She didn’t answer right away and she wouldn’t look at me. That was answer enough, honestly. Eventually she said, “Yes. I have for a long time.”

“Did anything happen between you two last night?”

She looked up then. I couldn’t really read her expression. “That’s not really your business.”

I laughed. “That’s a yes. Jesus Christ, Liv. You seriously have bad timing.”

“Me? This isn’t totally my fault! I never asked you to kiss me.”

Ouch. “Well, you didn’t exactly stop me either. You seemed to enjoy it, honestly, before you left me standing there like a total idiot. Just to run off with your one true love.”

“Stop that. He probably doesn’t reciprocate anyways,” she said quietly, obviously upset by it.

“Well, I know how that feels,” I said, getting up from our table. I couldn’t handle anymore. “I have to go.”

“Zack, wait,” she said, getting up too. “I’m sorry.”

I didn’t answer her and just walked away. I didn’t want to see her anymore. I didn’t want her to look at me like that again, pity in her eyes. That’s not the look I wanted to get from her. I wanted love, passion, lust. Not pity and guilt. I couldn’t take it.


	8. 7

Olivia

I sat there at the cafe table like an idiot watching Zack walk away. I guess I knew how he felt a little now and it made me feel like an even bigger ass. I wish I hadn’t brought up Brian in front of him! How stupid could I be?

Not knowing what else to do, I called Matt, begging him to come and meet me. I didn’t want to come to his place, not when everyone else would be there, or at least Val. I didn’t want to face any of them. Val was my friend, of course, but I didn’t want her blabbing my business, which she has done to me before. My brother would never do that to me, no matter how pissed off this was going to make him. He was my best friend.

He was there in no time, knowing that I was upset on the phone. I had ordered myself some Diet Coke and got him one too.

“What’s going on sis? You sounded upset,” Matt said after taking a sip of his drink.

“I have to talk to you about something but you need to promise me that you won’t get upset. I mean, you can, but just your emotions in check, please,” I said to him, knowing damn well his temper would probably flare.

“Is this about Zack? Johnny told us all what happened with you guys last night. Why did you run off like that? I was worried about you.”

“Well, there’s a little more to it then that,” I said, starting to think that this was a bad idea. I wasn’t sure what all I should tell my brother about what I did with his best friend.

“Well? You can’t hide shit from me, Livvy.”

He was right. “Well, I don’t know if you saw, but Brian and I danced together and well, uh, we both liked it.”

“I’m surprised you finally made a move!” Matt said, laughing loudly. I just stared at him, shocked by this reaction. “What? It’s obvious you’ve had a crush on Gates for years. Maybe not to everyone else, but I know you!”

I sighed, “Well, I’m glad you knew and aren’t being an ass. I thought you might be mad.”

“I can’t get mad at you for having a crush on someone. I can get mad at you, though, for leaving my friend hanging when you clearly don’t have feelings for him.”

“I just met with Zack to talk to him about it and it didn’t go very well. He’s pissed at me.”

“What all did you say?”

I looked down at my glass, which was almost empty now, and sighed. Here goes. “Well, I told Zack I didn’t return his feelings and I accidentally let it slip that I have feelings for Brian.”

Matt nodded. “I get why he’s mad; rejection is awkward.”

“No, you don’t get it. I don’t know if Zack will ever speak to me again!”

Matt raised his brows at me, not quite getting why. So I said, “He may have found out that more than dancing happened with me and Brian last night.”

Matt groaned, “You’ve got to be fucking kidding me!”

“Please don’t be mad!”

“I’m not mad, really. Just kind of grossed out,” he said, laughing. I felt body relax then with relief that he wasn’t upset with me.

“You’re an idiot,” he said then after his laughter. “You shouldn’t have said anything about that to Zacky.”

“I didn’t, really. He just saw through me avoiding his questions. I feel like an ass.”

“I think you should a little bit, Liv. You hurt the guy's’ feelings. And now you need to figure out what’s going on with you and Syn. Because if this was just a fling you crushed Zacky over I’m gonna be a little pissed at you, just saying.”

I sighed. “If I had it my way it wouldn’t be a fling. Like you knew, I’ve had a crush on him forever. But he didn’t exactly stick around for breakfast.”

Matt grimaced, “Not a good sign, sis. Look, I’ve never known Brian to have a serious girlfriend.”

“What about Michelle?”

“Michelle doesn’t really count. They’ve hooked up a couple of times, she’s a little obsessed with him, and he barely likes her. They haven’t been together in months, though, according to Val. Shit, Chel would be so mad at you if she found out,” he said, laughing at me again. He was enjoying this too much.

“You’re a dick. You’re supposed to be helping me!”

“Not sure what you want me to do here, Liv. You say you want to be with Syn? You’ll have to talk to him about it. He won’t know otherwise, and regardless of his feelings, he’ll avoid the issue. I know him; he avoids confrontation at all cost.”

“Do you think that’s why he took off? To avoid the awkwardness of the morning?” I asked.

“Maybe, but I don’t want you to get your hopes up in case it doesn’t work out, sis. I don’t want you to get hurt.” he told me.

“I’m sorry this puts you in kind of an awkward spot, with your friends and sister. I didn’t mean for all of this to happen. Well, I guess I kind of did with Brian, but not Zack. I just don’t know what to do for Zack to forgive me.”

“Give him some space and time. He’ll cool down eventually. If it does work out with you and Gates definitely don’t flaunt it. If it doesn’t work out, maybe let him rub it in your face a bit,” he said with a grin.

“Gee, that sounds great,” I said with a smile. “I guess I’ll have to talk to Brian then.”

“Good luck.”

-0-

Brian

God, this hangover. The coffee wasn’t really working to ease the headache and the Advil hadn’t kicked in yet. So, while waiting for the pain to subside, I laid in bed, my arm over my eyes, and tried to think about anything and everything except for fucking Olivia Sanders. But fuck, I couldn’t get the beauty off of my mind. I really fucked things up by sleeping with her, I knew. This was more than just a one night stand; there would be repercussions to this. Not only would I have to deal with Matt being an ass if he found out, Michelle would try and murder me and probably Liv too if she knew, I didn’t know how Zack would feel, and who knows how Liv was going to react to it.

I felt like a dick leaving this morning, which is not normal for me. I stayed longer than I usually do even and still felt bad about it. Olivia was my friend, after all. I was telling myself that’s all it was, anyways, letting myself revel in denial. But the little force in the back of my head knew it was more than that. Sleeping with her was beyond anything I’d ever experienced, and I had had some really wild nights with some extremely beautiful women. But there was something about the way she touched me and moaned my name…

I groaned. I felt like a fucking high school girl thinking about this shit. I would deal with it when and if I had to and otherwise just leave it alone. Avoid this as much as possible!

I heard a knock at my door after a few moments, but I didn’t answer. Jimmy would barge in if it was him and the others would leave me alone. I hoped they’d leave so I could sleep off this headache, but the knocking got louder, fiercer.

“Fine, come the fuck in!” I yelled, pissed off already.

I didn’t open my eyes to face the intruder, but I heard Zack’s voice say, “What. The. Fuck.”

I looked over at him them, knowing what this was about. I almost forgot about his moment with Olivia last night. Had he found out what happened? So much for avoiding things.

“What?” I asked, sitting up and trying to play dumb. Please, be about something else.

“You fucking SLEPT with her?!” he practically shrieked.

“Zack, who I sleep with is none of your business,” I said, which was probably stupid.

“You’ve got to be fucking kidding me. You’re constantly telling me about all of the girls you fuck! Couldn’t you just keep it in your pants for one fucking night?!”

“Jesus, what’s got you so upset about it, anyways?” I asked, playing dumb. I didn’t want him to know I saw them on the balcony. Maybe that would get me on his good side? Doubt it.

Zack sighed, calming slightly, thank God. “I kissed her last night. Right before she ran off to fuck you.”

I didn’t really know what to say. “Shit, Zacky.”

“Yeah, shit. Did you even know that I’ve liked her for years now? I mean even fucking Johnny noticed. But not you! You’re so damn self centered it kills me!”

“Hey now! If I had known all this shit I would’ve backed off. It just happened, you know?”

“And again you’re being a dick, no surprise there! Do you even realize how much she likes you? What are you going to do, fuck her and leave her? She’s not just another piece of meat, you ass.”

“A second ago you were pissed at me for sleeping with her, now you want me to date her?”

“Jesus, no. I don’t want you to date her. But I don’t want you to hurt her at all either. I care about her too much,” he said quietly. He wouldn’t look at me. I knew he was pissed and really hurt and it killed me.

“Zacky, I’m sorry. I really am. I didn’t know you liked her that much,” I said, telling the truth. I didn’t know what that kiss on the porch was all about last night. I let myself think it was just a drunken accident so I could have my way with her and not feel guilty, but I should’ve known.

“Well, thanks I guess,” he answered, backing away to leave. But, before he did he said, “Just don’t leave her hanging. If you don’t want to be with her, tell her.”

“And if I do want to be with her?” I asked before I could stop myself.

He looked at me then, dead in the eye. “Then be with her. Just don’t fuck it up.”


	9. 8

Zack

I was beyond pissed. This did NOT go as I planned. I wanted to kiss her, tell her I love her, and sweep her off of her goddamn feet! Not listen to this bullshit about her sleeping with one of my best friends. I can’t believe that I was telling myself I’d be cool with it if she ended up with that bastard, that I’d accept it. How can I accept something so fucking crushing?

And I think it’s bullshit that Brian said he had no idea how I felt. If Johnny Christ figured it out, then I think it had to be pretty obvious. He must not have seen what happened at the party. If he had and lied to me about it he’d be even more of a dick. But shit, Liv had no idea either. She’s so wrapped up in Gates and he’s so wrapped up in himself that they were too stupid to notice.

I needed to breathe. I normally don’t think things like this, but shit I was mad. And hurt. I didn’t know what I was going to do. That last question Syn asked me… fuck. If he really did want to be with her, what would I do? Part of me wanted to go beat the shit out of Gates, but I knew that was stupid. I needed to keep my cool for the band’s sake if nothing else. Regardless of everything, he was my friend and so was Liv. What happened between them was out of my control, as much as I hated to think it. Unless I talked her out of dating him, but that just didn’t seem right. I wanted her to be happy.

After leaving Syn’s room I went into my own, wanting to be alone to cool down, but as soon and I felt my nerves start to mellow out, my door swung open.

“Johnny,” I stated to greet my intruder. The fucker never knocked.

“You’re upset,” he said, calmer than I expected. Even with a hangover he was usually cheery and somewhat obnoxious.

“I am,” I said, not knowing what else to say.

“I’m upset. This is the stupidest fucking love triangle I’ve ever seen. Twilight was better than this shit!” he exclaimed, making me laugh. “I heard you yelling at Gates. That fucker.”

“Glad you’re on my side,” I said, sighing.

“Hey now! I’m not taking sides here. I just don’t want my friends fighting over my other friend’s little sister. Talk about awkward!” he said. “But shit if you want the girl, get the fucking girl!”

“What are you talking about?”

“Zack, you’ve been crushing on her for years. Last night wasn’t the best way to swoon her. She was shitfaced!” Johnny said, laughing at me.

“Wow, you’re so helpful, dickwad.”

“Fuck, ok. I’m just saying, maybe you should try again, do something a little bit more romantic while you’re both sober?”

“She thinks I hate her. Not sure how I’d do that,” I said, not believing that I was actually considering and idea that Johnny gave me. Moments ago I was thinking about how shitty it would be for me to try and convince her not to date Syn, but this was a decent alternative. Johnny had a point; she was drunk and I freaked her out. Would it have been different if she was sober?

“Just say you’re sorry. Even though it’s totally reasonable for you to be mad. Get flowers, dress up, do all that romantic fluffy shit that girls like.”

“Fluffy?”

“You fucking know what I mean! Do it or I bet you’ll regret it,” he said, leaving me alone confused.

Should I try again, or would that just be too much? If I did, I probably needed to do it soon before Gates decided what he wanted in all of this. I was afraid she’d choose him over me. She’d been pining over him for awhile, she had told me, and I knew exactly how that felt. And considering that she had slept with him already, I assumed she would want more. At least, that’s how I’d react to sleeping with her. Unless he was shit in the sack and she was over him. I highly doubted that, unfortunately.

At the same time, with all of this, I didn’t know if I wanted to go through with it. It felt like I’d just be her second choice. Well, if Brian doesn’t like me, then I guess Zack would do! Did I really want that? The prideful part of me said no, that would be dumb. Be a man, Zack; don’t let her get to you! But at the same time, I knew Johnny was actually right for once. I was now wondering what would have happened if I had had better timing, what would have happened if she hadn’t been drinking. I just wanted to be with her, regardless of the circumstances. I didn’t want to give up, yet. Maybe it was worth it to try again. I just needed a plan…

-0-

Brian

I felt like such an ass. I wanted to go after Zack, tell him I was sorry again, but I knew I needed to give him space. A little space would probably do me some good, too. I just wanted to crawl back into bed and sleep this off and not worry about it anymore. Seeing Zack’s reaction was killing me because as much as I wanted to back off, I couldn’t just let her go. She had some pull on me that I couldn’t get over. I couldn’t stop thinking about all of the things we could do together, all of the ways I could have her in my bed…

I smiled at that thought and I felt more relaxed, closing my eyes as I sat on my bed, leaning against the headboard. But, of course, as soon as I began to drift off, my door burst open. I knew it was Jimmy because he never knocked and he always barged in like he owned the damn place, and if anyone else did that I’d kick their ass.

“What?” I said, not hiding my sass. I didn’t feel like talking about this shit anymore, not even with my best friend.

“What the fuck is happening right now?” he said, way too loud.

“Weren’t you just passed out on the couch a second ago?” I asked, trying to show how annoyed I was, even though I knew he wouldn’t leave unless I physically forced him to.

“Zack’s fucking yelling woke me up. You slept with Olivia?”

Great, who else heard? Thank God Matt wasn’t home, but I’m sure Johnny knew. I’d probably hear from that short shit next.

“Yep,” I said, still not wanting to talk about it.

“Brian,” Jimmy started, which made me look at him. If he was calling me by my real name shit was about to get serious, unfortunately. It was a rare occasion when Jimmy was serious and right now I’d prefer his obnoxious antics.

“James,” I answered because I felt like being an ass. I was good at that today.

He sat on my bed next to me. “You saw her and Zack together and you still went and fucked her?”

Shit, he remembered. I hoped he and Johnny wouldn’t spill that to Zacky. “Yes. I know, I’m a total ass.”

“Yeah, you are. No wonder Zacky wanted VENGEANCE!!” he laughed at his own joke then, falling back on my bed. I rolled my eyes but couldn’t help but smirk at the pun. I knew he couldn’t stay serious for too long.

“You’re not helping,” I said to my best friend.

“Was I supposed to?”

“Yes, idiot! I don’t know what to do now,” I admitted.  
“Did you apologize to Zack?”

“Yes, but he’s still pissed. And I don’t know what to do about Olivia.”

“Wait a sec. Are you trying to tell me that you, the great Synyster Gates, have FEELINGS for this girl!?” he asked, laughing his ass off.

“You’re a dick,” I replied, not admitting anything.

“Seriously, though. Normally you don’t think twice about the girls you screw. What’s different this time?”

“I mean, it’s Olivia…”

“And? Just because she’s Matt’s sister doesn’t mean anything, Gates. Sure it might make things more complicated, but it shouldn’t affect how you feel about her romantically.” He wiggled his eyebrows as he said ‘romantically,’ making me roll my eyes.

He wasn’t getting it. “No, that’s not it. I just mean, well, it’s Olivia!”

“Clearly I’m not following, Gatesy-poo. Spell it out for the dear old Rev.”

I had been debating my feelings from the second she fell asleep until now. I obviously liked her, had feelings for her. But it made me feel like an idiot because I hadn’t felt this way about a girl since my first crush back in grade school. She wasn’t like the other girls I had been with. She was gorgeous, smart, and genuine. I had known her for so long that I couldn’t imagine what my life would be like without her. She was amazing in so many ways. She didn’t try to be something she wasn’t, which I loved about her. And thinking that way, using words like “loved” freaked me the fuck out.

I groaned. “I like her, alright? She’s different is what I mean.”

“Wow, that’s beautiful. You should tell her that. ‘Hey Liv I like ya cause you’re different, K?!’” Jimmy said, laughing at my misery.

“You know I’m not good at this shit!”

“Clearly! Jesus, Brian! If you like her you need to know why at least. This is more serious than trying to date any girl. There’s the whole Zack thing, for instance. And who knows what Matt will do. I hope he kicks your ass!”

“Gee, thanks buddy.”

“Alright, alright. So what happened, exactly?”

I told him about our walk home, how she flirted with me, and how one thing led to another. I didn’t share the details about how amazing it all was; he didn’t need to hear that. Typically I wasn’t shy about sharing, but it didn’t feel right this time.

“Did you sleep over?” he asked me.

“I stayed for a bit afterwards. She was asleep when I left,” I answered.

He grimaced, “Oh, not good. She probably thinks you weren’t into her, then. I mean, that’s what any smart girl would assume when the guy doesn’t stick around, I think.”

“Yeah, I know. I just didn’t know what to do and I’ve literally never stayed the night with a girl after sex.”

“Not even Michelle?”

“Nope. Especially not her. With Olivia I felt bad leaving, but I just didn’t know what would happen or what I should do!”

“Uh, maybe stay for a cuddle and free breakfast? Jesus, Syn.”

I rolled my eyes. “Again, I’m not good at this shit.”

“Again, that’s clear! You need to talk to her, win her over. She’s probably pissed that you left.”

I groaned, “I don’t want to piss Zack off. I don’t want to deal with Matt. And shit, I don’t even know if Liv wants a relationship. Maybe she just wanted to screw once and leave it!”

“Yeah, I doubt it. You said she told you she’d had those feelings awhile, right?”

“Not exactly. She made it clear she wanted me that night, but wasn’t obvious about how she felt before then.”

“OK, but she’s a girl. Not to be a dick, but girls typically don’t just randomly decide they want to fuck their brother’s friends. And knowing Liv, I’m sure she’d been thinking about it awhile before she actually did anything. She’s always planning shit ahead of time,” he said.

I laughed then, smiling. I liked that about her. I wasn’t that way and sometimes I wished I was. Maybe if I was more like her I wouldn’t be in this situation. But, thinking that made me a bit sad. I didn’t regret sleeping with her, really; it was honestly one of the best nights of my life. But if I had thought everything through, I probably wouldn’t have done it to avoid hurting my friend. But, shit it was amazing. Maybe it made me a dick, but I wouldn’t take it back.

“So?” Jimmy asked.

“So, what?”

He laughed at me. “What are you gonna do, stupid?”

“Talk to her? I guess that’s all I can do, right? Should I ask her on a date or something?” I felt stupid.

“Sure, but maybe actually plan ahead a bit and think about what you’re gonna say so you don’t say something stupid like ‘You’re different! Please date me!’ You need to be sincere and not sound like a doofus at the same time,” Jimmy said, smiling at me.

I laughed, “That’s probably easier said than done, Jimbo.”

“God, she’ll probably love it, seeing you like that. Just be yourself and don’t lie. She doesn’t need that shit. She’s our friend, too. If you fuck this up you’re pissing off a lot of people.”

“No pressure. Fuck.”

“Sorry, but still. Don’t fuck it up!”


	10. 9

Olivia

I sighed, leaning against my apartment door, not wanting to move. I had just gotten home from meeting with my brother, and though he made me feel better, I still couldn’t help but feel guilt and confusion about this entire situation. I knew I needed to give Zack some space and time to process everything, but all I wanted to do was pick up the phone and call him to see if he was OK. Regardless of everything, I really cared about him. He was one of the best friends I had ever had.

Looking back, I realize now that a lot of what Zack did for me in the past had to be because of his feelings for me. I couldn't believe how oblivious I had been. Was I just so blind and obsessive over Brian that I couldn’t see that a wonderful guy was right before me? Not only did I feel guilty about rejecting him in general, I felt horrible thinking about his reaction to my confessions about Brian, and another part of me felt guilty for not seeing Zack’s true affections earlier, too. I couldn’t help but think about all of the “what if’s” of this situation. What if I had noticed Zack’s true feelings earlier on, would I be with him now? What if I had been totally sober when he kissed me, or what if he had had better timing? What if I hadn’t made a move on Brian the same night?

And Zack, well, was so damn cute. I couldn’t help but get butterflies thinking about our kiss. Part of my felt like an idiot for rejecting him because he was attractive, sweet, funny, and caring. But then there was Brian.

Not knowing how Brian felt about this made it much more confusion. I honestly assumed that he wasn’t really interested in me since he left me hanging, but at the same time, it is a slightly awkward situation. Maybe he just didn't want to deal with it; he’s not a very confrontational guy, so I could see that. But that almost meant I may never know how he really feels. When it came to Brian, I also felt guilt because of Michelle. Though I wasn’t necessarily fond of her, she would be so upset if she knew we slept together. Their relationship was odd to say the least, but I was worried it would ruin my friendship with her and even more so her sister.

I sighed again, pushing myself off of the door. I headed to my room, figuring I would change into PJs, veg out the rest of the day, watch crappy TV and eat ice cream. I wasn’t ready to talk to Brian, yet. Part of me wanted him to make the move and show me how he really felt. And if I didn’t hear from him soon, I wasn’t sure if talking to him would even matter. With every passing moment, I was becoming more and more convinced that it would just be a one night stand and nothing more.

I fell on my bed, groaning. I wanted more with Brian, of course, but I couldn’t force it. If I was just a good time for him, so be it. I would not allow myself to feel sorry for myself forever because a guy didn’t return my feelings. But that was easier said than done. I’ve been told that I’m tough, but being rejected by your long time crush definitely wasn’t easy. That thought made me feel guilty about Zack again.

If this whole thing is Brian didn’t work out, maybe I could try being with Zack. I liked the idea of being with him, honestly. He was cute, sweet, kind, made me laugh, and really cared about me. And that kiss was so tender and amazing, I could only imagine how it would be if I was sober. But I didn’t want to be with Zack just as a second choice. And I know Zack wouldn’t be with me if that was the case; he has too much self respect for that. I felt like a bitch for even considering that as an option.

I had two amazing moments with two amazing guys. The kiss with Zack was sweet, soft, wonderful, but totally surprising. Again I wondered what if I had been more prepared, more willing for it to happen? And then there was my night with Brian, which is everything I had ever dreamed of. His body was perfect, his kisses full of passion, and he made my body shake. But, the two moments felt so different. Zack’s kiss was timid, but clearly full of love and tenderness. He showed me passion, but was also reserved with not knowing what I wanted. Brian, on the other had, was full of lust, desire, and outright passion. It was hard to compare the two, not knowing the answers to my what if’s, but I definitely felt something for both guys.

When I talked to Zack earlier, I rejected him because I felt more confident about my decision to be with Brian or no one at all. But as time passes and I don’t hear from him, I keep wondering if I was being an idiot. But, again, I felt like a bitch because I didn’t want to choose Zack as a second option. Maybe I was better off alone.

Just as I was thinking this, I heard a knock at my front door. Confused, I rose from my bed, not knowing who it would be. I felt nervous, thinking it may be Brian, but part of my doubted it, knowing that he would probably be avoiding me still. I quickly looked at myself in my mirror and fixed my hair, then headed to answer the door.

I didn’t look through the peephole because I was too nervous, so I just opened the door, acting as confident as possible. I was surprised to see Zack in front of me, looking extremely anxious.

“Zack? I didn’t think I’d see you again in awhile,” I admitted without thinking. I probably should have sounded more grateful to see him, but I was confused.

“Will you come with me? I have something to show you,” he said, finally looking me in the eye.

“Of course, hold on a second,” I said. I grabbed my eyes and purse and put my shoes back on and immediately followed him out the door, not really caring where we were going. I was just glad to see him here, knowing that he wasn’t as mad at me as I thought. Unless I had the wrong idea of why he was here.

He didn’t say anything else but led me to his car, unlocking it for us to get in. I was getting nervous now; usually he is cheerful around me and excited to see me, but now he was off, not himself.

“Zack, what’s going on?” I asked as I sat down in the car.

He sighed and said, “Just trust me for a moment, OK? It’s a surprise.”

“Alright,” I said nervously. He didn’t look angry, but he definitely seemed nervous. What was he up to?

The car ride to our mystery location was quiet, but he had on music, which made me smile because it was one of my favorite Elvis albums. I knew Zacky put it on just for me; he didn’t really care for it that much but knew I loved it. He always had my favorite music playing when he drove me around, which I always found to be incredibly sweet. Being sweet was typical of Zack, who was always trying to make me happy.

He pulled into the parking lot of my favorite beach in the area. It was summer, so I expected the beach to be pretty crowded, but because of all of the clouds in the sky, there wasn’t too many people around. It was actually a cooler day than usual, which I loved; it was nice to take a break from the heat.

Zack opened my car door before I had the chance and said, “Come with me.”

He had his hand held out to me and I took it without a thought. Feeling my hand it his was nice and I felt myself blushing. What was going on here?

Zack led me to the beach and an area where there was a blanket and picnic set up. I couldn’t help but smile and giggle a bit. The gesture was so incredibly sweet, especially since he knew I loved this beach and I couldn’t resist a good picnic.

We sat down on the blanket, Zack still nervous and quiet. To make him feel better I sai, “Zacky, this is so incredible. What made you do this?”

“I wanted to apologize for how I acted earlier today,” he said. “And what better way to do that then with a picnic of your favorite foods?”

He opened up the cooler and proved it; all of my favorites were packed inside for us to eat. He loosened up after I dived into the cooler, thanking him for his kindness. It was so nice to just sit with my friend, relax, and eat. It felt like all of our problems didn’t exist, that all of my guilt and confusion was being washed away by the ocean waves. We talked about everything except the drama between us, laughed our butts off, and I couldn’t keep the smile off of my face. I didn’t really know what Zack expected after this, but I was so happy that he wanted to be around me, to at least be my friend.

Zack and I were so wrapped up in each other and our conversation that he didn’t notice the first rumble of thunder. It wasn’t until the rain started to fall that we got up to leave the beach, scrambling to pick up our stuff from the wet sand. The entire time we laughed and laughed and finally we ran to the car, giggling the entire way. After throwing our stuff in the trunk, I went to go back into the car, but Zack grabbed my arm, making me stop.

“Zack?” I said, looking into his eyes. They were piercing green, even in the storm.

He stepped closer to me then, moving the hand that was around my arm to my cheek. He put his other arm around me and I felt myself melt under his touch.I moved closer to him, pressing my body against his. I couldn’t help myself. He looked so gorgeous with the rain coming down and I felt so loved in his arms. I closed my eyes and let him lean in, closing the gap in between us.

This kiss was so different from our first. Yes, our first kiss was nice and I felt how tender he was, but this was so much more. I was alert and ready for it this time, but I also wanted it so badly. I felt passion this time, a desire from him that I didn’t feel before. He moved his lips against mine so perfectly, entering his tongue into my mouth and making me moan. He pulled me even closing, moving his hand through my hair and I could help but moan again.

When another clap of thunder struck I jumped slightly, forcing myself to pull away from him. He was in a slight daze, not knowing what to do.

“We should go, I’ll take you home,” he said quietly, moving away from me and towards the driver’s seat.

When I got in the care I was smiling, but Zack wasn’t. “What’s wrong?”

He didn’t start the car, but turned slightly to look at me. “That kiss was…”

“Amazing,” I interrupted.

He smiled then, “I didn’t know if you would get mad, but I couldn’t help myself. I just knew that the other night didn’t go as I planned and I wanted to make it up to you, show you that I care about you.”

“I know you do, Zack,” I told him, grabbing his hand. “I knew that before, I was just too blind to see in what way. I am sorry for that.”

He smiled at me again, starting the car. “We need to get out of this storm.”

“Yes, let’s go back to my place.”

-0-

Brian

I had finally gotten dressed after talking with Jimmy, knowing I needed to get off my ass and deal with this before I lost my chance. Jimmy told me to be romantic and to talk to her, tell her how I really felt, and so that was what I was going to do.

Problem was that I had no fucking clue how to do that. I figured flowers were probably a good option; what girl doesn’t like flowers? I’d show up at her door with a bouquet and sweep her off her feet with my proclamation of my affection.

Even thinking it made me feel like an idiot. I guess that was the point, though; I needed to show her that I cared, that I wanted to actually be with her, not just fuck her. It was beyond anything I had really done for a girl, but it felt necessary for Liv. She was different than other girls and she was my friend. She deserved the world.

A storm was brewing outside, but I knew I needed to go out soon before it got too dark and I got too chicken shit to follow through with my plan. I looked at myself in the mirror again, making sure I looked as sexy as usual, then walked out the door. Here I come, Olivia, ready or not.


	11. 10

Zacky

I couldn’t believe what was happening. Here I was, following the girl of my dreams to her apartment after the most amazing kiss of my life. I just wanted to grab her, kiss her again and make her mine. But I needed to slow down and really show her how serious I was about this; I wasn’t here just to sleep with her and leave her. I was here to love her. She needed to see that I was worth it, that I was the one for her, not any other guy that might be on her mind.

When I took Olivia to the beach I knew she would be happy because picnics on the beach are one of her favorite things. I figured she would be happy to see me after our fight, knowing that she probably thought I hated her. I could never hate her, honestly. Part of me wanted to after her initial rejection, but I couldn’t. And though Johnny’s idea was totally crazy, I knew that I needed to try once more. I couldn’t just walk away from her without truly knowing where I stood. Yes, I knew she had feelings for my friend, but with the confusion of everything, I couldn’t let myself believe that I was out of the running.

I honestly just wished I had done it this way the first time. Then all of the doubts I would have would be gone and we’d already be together. With the way she reacted to my second kiss, well damn! I knew I had her, I could feel her melting into my touch and it was heavenly. If I had done it that way the first time, none of this craziness would have happened. But I couldn’t dwell on that; I needed to focus on what was going on in front of me now.

Olivia was kicking off her shoes right when we walked in, so I followed suit, taking her lead. I wasn’t sure what would happen now. Would we just talk about what happened or would there be more? Would we ignore it all together? I really hoped not. The way that little blue dress clung to her made me want her so bad, but I needed to be patient. She shook out her soaking wet hair a bit and laughed, giving me that bright smile.

“I feel like a wet dog,” she said giggling. I laughed back at her. “We should get out of these wet clothes.”

Hearing her say it made me shiver in lust, but when she walked to me and started pulling at my t-shirt I couldn’t handle myself anymore. The girl of my dreams was undressing me for Christ’s sake, what was I supposed to do?!

As soon as my wet shirt hit the tile I started kissing her again, grabbing her by the waist and pulling her in. She moaned at the intensity of my kiss and I moved faster then, letting my tongue slip into her mouth. Her hands traced my bare back and landed around my waist as she let me kiss her. Before I knew it, I had her pressed against the wall, our bodies as close as possible as we continued our passionate kiss. Eventually I broke away from her mouth, kissing at her cheek and then her neck. As soon as I got to her neck she let out a throaty moan that turned me on so much I almost screamed.

She grabbed at my face then, breaking me away from her neck. “No hickies,” she said quickly before catching my lips again. This time her hands roamed through my wet hair and she pushed her hips closer to mine. She could probably feel how turned on I was, but I didn’t care. She was driving me wild but I just wanted more.

I broke away from her for a chance to breathe, but laid my forehead against hers. She had her eyes closed still and was gently panting from the kiss. I was so amazed by the beautiful woman in front of me, so shocked by what was happening, and so fucking happy.

“Olivia,” I started, though I didn’t really know what I wanted to say.

She opened her eyes and I backed my head up so our foreheads weren’t touching. Our bodies were still close. “Zack,” was all she said in return.

“You’re just so… wow, just so beautiful,” I said, not even caring that I sounded like a lovesick idiot. Because hell, that’s what I was.

She smiled at me and kissed me to thank me for the sentiment. I smiled into the kiss because I could help myself. When she pulled away she was smiling at me and she put my arms around my neck. “Well, damn Zacky. You’re not so bad yourself,” she said, winking at me.

I grinned and leaned in to kiss her again, but just a quick peck this time. I stayed close to her and said, “I can’t tell you how long I’ve wanted this.”

“I’m sorry I didn’t realize it before,” she answered quietly.

I kissed her forehead and wrapped my arms around her. “It’s okay. You know it now, that’s what matters.”

With that she leaned her head up to kiss me again. With each kiss she gave I fell for her, over and over. I couldn’t help but feel like I was on a cloud when her lips touched mine. When she broke away from me I couldn’t help myself, so I began to say, “Olivia, I lo-”

But then there was a knock at the door, making us both jump because we were still standing near it. We hadn’t even made it five feet past the apartment entrance because we wanted to continue kissing so bad, which made me smile, but whoever the fuck was here to ruin my moment would pay.

“Just ignore it,” she said, kissing me. But then the knock got louder.

Olivia sighed and moved away from me, scooting past to reach the door. But when she opened it, the sight before me was totally unbelievable.

-0-

Brian

This fucking storm sucked, I swear. But I guess I shouldn’t bitch; I hadn’t managed to get wet yet at least. Right after I got into my car from the flower shop the heavens opened and the rain came and I had to put my wipers on full blast. I was making my way to Liv’s apartment and I had the radio off, not wanting any noise or distractions. My thoughts of what I was going to do once I got to her place was distracting enough.

I still felt like such a dork buying a bouquet of red roses and attempting to confess my crush. I wasn’t sure if it was more than a crush at this point, but I knew I definitely felt something for Liv. She had made me feel so much different than other girls I’d been with that I knew being with her would be worth making a fool of myself. And like Jimmy said, she’d probably love it.

I don’t quite remember the first time I met Liv, but I do remember her hanging out with the band and watching us play when I first joined. For as long as I remember she and I had a fun relationship. We joked a lot, flirted a bit, and generally had a good time. I don’t think we considered each other best friends in any case, though; I knew her really well but not on a super deep level. I know, though, that making this step would change that, which I was excited about. I wanted to know her better, to make her happy. Shit, I didn’t even know her favorite color, but I would fucking find out.

I finally pulled into her apartment complex, ready to get the fuck out of this rain. Luckily it had subsided a bit and it wasn’t pouring like it was before, but I was glad I kept an umbrella in the car so her flowers wouldn’t get wet. After parking the car I looked over to the passenger seat, staring at the flowers. I sighed, feeling a pit of nervousness in my stomach. Could I really do this?

I turned my head and leaned it against the headrest of my seat and closed my eyes for a moment, trying to calm myself before I got out of the car. I knew this is what I needed to do, but I felt so damn nervous. That wasn’t normal for me. I was usually cool and collected, confident in my looks and my ability to get the girl. But this time it was different. I really didn’t want to fuck this up.

It was now or never, I knew, and I got out of the car with the roses in my hand. Conveniently the rain had stopped the moment I opened my door and I was able to get to her door without so much as a drop of rain hitting me or the flowers.

Taking a deep breath, I knocked on the door. I had the flowers to my side and I could help but wonder what the fuck I should do with them: have them behind my back or in front of my face? Was that too corny? Should I just hold them on my side like an idiot and let them droop?

It was taking a long time for her to answer the door. I should’ve looked at the cars in the lot to see if she was home before I got out. But, just to be sure, I knocked again, a little louder this time, just in case. When she finally opened the door, I could help but feel shocked at what I saw. Liv was soaking wet and flushed faced and standing behind her was a half naked Zack.

“B-Brian!?” Liv said, obviously shocked at I was here.

“Baker, what the fuck?” I couldn’t help myself. Why was he here and why was his shirt off?

“Uh, hey,” he said awkwardly. He bent over, picking up his shirt off the ground, but I saw that it was dripping wet. They must have gotten caught in the storm. Maybe that’s all it was...

I felt even dumber now, standing there with those goddamn roses. Liv moved aside, inviting me in, but I didn’t really want to. Zack wasn’t making a move to leave, but I guess I couldn’t blame him.

“Can I talk to you alone?” I asked her, shifting my gaze to Zack.

“Yes, sure,” she said, looking at Zack. “I’ll be back in a bit.”

Instead of having me come in and kicking his ass out, she walked out the door and closed it behind her, leaving the two of us outside of her apartment. She lived on the first floor and had a little patio outside of her apartment, so we went out there. The chairs were soaked so we just stood there awkwardly until I lifted my hand to give her to roses.

“Brian, that’s really sweet. Thank you,” she said, smiling at me. She was clearly nervous, probably anxious to see why I was here.

I knew leaving her alone after our night together was a mistake. She must have thought I didn’t care about her, having Zack here. Maybe I was reading into things, but I don’t know. It was all just so confusing.

“Yeah,” I said, not knowing what to do. I felt lost.

“So, uh, what brings you here?” she asked me, not wanting to wait for me to get over my confusion.

I looked at her then, saying, “Honestly? I don’t even fucking know now.”

I began to walk away, so pissed at myself for coming here and making a fool of myself. But, before I could go far, Liv grabbed my arm, pulling me back towards her.

“Don’t fucking leave,” she said, her voice cracking. “Tell me why you’re here. Tell me why you decided to show up now, hours after our night together, with a bouquet of roses.”

“Liv, I’m sorry,” I said before explaining. I wasn’t sure what was going through her head but she was clearly upset. “I just thought-”

“Thought what? That after leaving me last night that I’d be waiting for you to show up at my door?”

“No, that’s not it, just listen to me…”

She sighed, putting the flowers down on her patio table. “I’m sorry, I don’t mean to snap. It’s just bad timing.”

“What do you mean?”

“Just tell me what you came here to say,” she answered, avoiding the question, giving me more reason to believe that something was going on between her and Zack.

“Look, leaving you last night was a dick move, I know. I just didn’t know what to do. You know I’m not the type of guy to stick around, but that’s no excuse. I shouldn’t have done that to you because you deserve better than that. Liv… fuck. Last night was the most amazing night of my life,” I told her, looking down at my feet. Again, I felt the nerves build up in my stomach, especially since her reaction to me being here wasn’t totally pleasant.

“Really?” she asked quietly, making me look up at her.

I took a step closer to her and said, “Yes, so, so amazing. I can’t get you off of my mind, girlie. You’re driving me crazy. And I’m so mad at myself for not realizing this before. You’re beautiful, Liv. You’re smart, funny, and amazing. And I’m an ass for not noticing it before you brought me to your bed. For that, I’m sorry. And I’m sorry for not staying until morning. I was just… just afraid, honestly. I’ve never felt for a girl like I’ve felt for you. And in this short amount of time I’ve gone from just thinking about what it might be like to kiss you to being absolutely crazy about you. I’ve always thought you were beautiful, Liv, but I didn’t realize how much I wanted to be with you until last night.”

I had gotten really close to her as I told her this. I took her face into my hands then, making her look at me. “I hope I’m not too late.”

She sighed, taking a step away from me. “You both have such shitty timing. God, I have shitty timing.” She actually laughed when she said this, putting her hand to her forehead.

“Liv, what’s going on here?” I asked, though I think I knew the answer.

“I don’t even know anymore,” she said.

I was getting mad now. I just confessed how I felt and this was her reaction? I don’t really know what I expected, but this wasn’t it. “Can you at least tell me how you feel? I feel like I’m putting my heart on the line and you don’t even care.”

“That’s not it at all. I am just confused about everything happening right now. What you told me is so sweet. I’ve wanted you to tell me something like that for years, honestly. But now it’s more complicated. I’m sorry,” she said, turning away from me. “I hate to say this, but I think you should go.”

“Liv, please,” I begged.

“I’m sorry, Brian,” she said, grabbing the flowers and walking into her apartment and closing the door behind her.

I stood there staring at the door for a moment, feeling like an utter fool. I turned and walked to my car in a daze, barely realizing what I was doing until I sat behind the wheel. I was pissed beyond all reason and I couldn’t help but punch the steering wheel with bost fists, screaming with my teeth barred. Why the fuck did I think this was a good idea? Why didn’t I just stay last night? What the FUCK was happening with Zack?


	12. 11

Zack

I stood around awkwardly waiting for Olivia to come back, not really sure what was happening or what I should do. I felt like at this point, whatever was happening outside, I had her. Right? I mean, she was just kissing me, holding me, giving me her affection. Gates couldn’t take that away, no matter what he was trying to do with those stupid flowers.

I sighed, moving away from the door and towards her kitchen. I didn’t want to get her couch wet so I sat in a wooden kitchen chair instead, awkwardly waiting for her to come back and tell me that I was the only one for her, that Gates sucked, and I was the best. I knew that it probably wouldn’t work out that way, but fuck, she couldn’t give in to him and leave me again, could she?

I couldn’t even stand the thought of it. If she did that… I don’t know. I feel like I wouldn’t be able to forgive her for that. Rejecting me once was one thing, but twice… especially after those kisses we just shared. I don’t know what I would do. But part of me felt pretty confident that she would stay with me, honestly. I knew her better than him, for one. There’s no way I would’ve shown up with a bouquet of roses because she didn’t even like them. I knew that the beach picnic would woo her, not some corny flowers. I knew everything about her and I highly doubt he did. I think he just enjoyed his night either her enough that he wants to have a few more. Beyond that, who knows what he would want. I needed her to see that. I needed her to see that I was the one who loved her.

God, what if he hadn’t come to the door? I almost told her I loved her! I was almost grateful for his interruption because who knows how she would've reacted to that. I was getting too confident, letting myself fall into this too quickly. She was just now returning my feelings so I needed to relax. But as each minute went by without her coming back in the apartment I began to become more and more worried about what was happening out there.

I had my wet shirt in my hands but I didn’t want to put it back on just yet. It was just damp now, but I hoped that Olivia and I could continue where we left off when she came back in… which could happen any minute now!

Finally I heard the door open and quickly close, but Olivia did not enter the kitchen. So, I got up and left, only to see her leaning against the door, her head in her hands. She was shaking, crying.

“Olivia,” I said, moving towards her. I placed my hands over hers, attempting to move them away from her face, but she didn’t let me. She shifted away from me, walking towards the living room.

Wiping her eyes, she looked at me and said, “Zack, you should go.”

“What?” I asked, feeling myself getting angry and upset. “Look, whatever he just said-”

“Stop,” she said, looking away. “I don’t want to talk about this right now. I just need some space, OK?”

I nodded, not wanting to push it. “Is there anything I can do to make you feel better?”

She smiled at me, “Just don’t hate me, OK? I need some time to process everything. Just give them that time.”

“I can do that. Just please, don’t forget me. Don’t forget how much I care about you,” I practically begged, putting my shoes back on. I left then without another word, not knowing what else I could even say.

When I got back in my car I felt pissed. Why did he have to come and ruin everything for me? AGAIN? Why couldn’t I just be with her and not have to deal with this shit? Maybe we just weren’t meant to be together…

I didn’t want to think that yet. There was still time and I still had a chance. I needed to talk to Gates, ask him what the fuck his problem was. We needed to get this shit figured out. If we didn’t, I worried about what would happen to our friendship and to our band.

When I arrived back at our place, it was oddly quiet. Usually I would hear music playing somewhere or video games on the TV, but not now. I went to my room to change, not wanting to face anyone until I put on some dry clothes. After changing, I looked at myself in the mirror and smiled. This was the guy that just made out with the girl of his dreams. And if that asshole of a guitarist hadn’t interrupted, we may have even gone farther. The thought of that alone turned me on, but I was getting ahead of myself. I knew I needed to talk to him and figure out just how serious he was about this.

I went back towards the living room, seeing Gates sitting there alone on the couch. He was leaning back with his head on the back of the couch, arm over his eyes, and feet resting on the coffee table. He looked like he was asleep, but I didn’t really care. I didn’t know where anyone else was, but I was grateful to be able to talk to him alone.

“Syn?” I asked, hoping he wasn’t sleeping. Waking him up would only make this work.

He jumped at the sound of my voice and moved his arm away from his face. “Zack?” he asked, looking surprised to see me. I guess he may have expected me to stay with Olivia a lot longer, who knows.

“I need to talk to you,” I said, sitting next to him on the couch. He shifted himself to be more upright and look at me. “What were you doing at Olivia’s?”

“I could ask you the same thing,” he grumbled, crossing his arms.

“I was on a date with her. Kind of,” I said. I figured that was easier than explaining everything.

“I find that hard to believe,” he said, a nastiness in his tone. “Especially after the night I just had with her.”

I rolled my eyes. “Fine, I went over there because I wanted to apologize to her for being mean to her earlier today. So I took her out for awhile. We got caught in the storm and came back to her place.”

“And that’s all that happened?” he asked, raising a brow at me.

“Well… no,” I said, smiling to myself.

“Tell me,” he demanded.

“We kissed at the beach in the rain,” I said dreamily, sounding like a high school girl. “And we were making out when you knocked on the door.”

“So you didn’t sleep with her?”

“No. I’m not sure what would’ve happened if you hadn’t interrupted, though.”

He smiled at that, the bastard. “Oh, that’s too bad,” he said sarcastically.

“You know she doesn’t like roses, right?” I said back. I wasn’t going to let him be an ass without being one back.

He sighed, “No, I didn’t know that. I feel like I hardly know her at all.”

I didn’t really know how to respond. Part of me wanted to gloat, but he just looked so sad.

It was silent between us for awhile, neither of knowing what to do or say. We were friends, no matter how shitty this situation was for both of us. Here we both were, sitting in this state of limbo while we waited for Liv to choose between us. At least, that’s what I think we were waiting for. I guess it was possible that she just said fuck it and let both of us down. I felt sorry for her in a way, but obviously I felt that she should choose me.

“Gates,” I started, “How serious are you about all of this? I mean, is she just someone you want to screw again or someone you actually want to be with?”

“Do you really think I’d show up at her place with flowers and make a fool out of myself if I wasn’t serious about her?” he snapped.

“Shit, I don’t know. I’ve literally never seen you try and get the girl. They’re usually falling at your feet,” I joked, making him smirk a little.

“And you? I’m assuming you’re pretty serious about her, then?” he asked.

“Well, yeah. I wouldn’t have gotten so pissed at you before if I wasn’t. I’ve wanted to be with her for a really long time.”

“Why’d you wait until now, then?”

That was a good question, honestly. “I don’t really know. I guess I was too chicken shit before. I just felt like the party was a good time, I guess. I had thought about it ahead of time and I had it all planned out, but obviously that didn’t work out…”

“Which is my fault,” he said so I didn’t have to.

“Kind of. I mean, it wasn’t just you. It’s her too. It just all makes me wonder what would be happening if I hadn’t waited as long,” I confessed.

Syn nodded and shifted himself again so we were facing each other. “Look, Zack. It’s just like I randomly just decided that I like Liv. I’ve been attracted to her for a long time. It’s just, you know, with Matt and everything, I never did anything about it. And honestly I was more concerned with getting laid.”

I laughed a bit. “I know what you mean. The whole Matt thing definitely didn’t help me either.”

“That’s bullshit,” a new voice said from across the room. A pissed off voice.

“Shit, Shadz, you scared me,” Syn said.

“Neither of you two idiots can blame me for your situation,” he said, crossing his arms. “All three of you have such shitty timing and none of that is on me.”

“We know,” I said sighing. “We just don’t know what to do.”

“Last time I talked to her, she had no idea where Gates stood because he fucking left her alone, and you, Zacky, left her thinking that you hated her. So what’s different now?”

I filled Matt in with some of the details and as I did this, Syn groaned and put his eyes behind his arm again as he leaned further into the couch. I definitely didn’t feel bad about embarrassing him, but I knew I was being a dick, so I kept the story down to the most important details.

“Jesus,” Matt said, sitting on the chair across from us. “It’s only been a few hours… You’re all crazy.”

Syn laughed. “Duh.”

Matt chuckled and said, “What are you going to do, then?”

“What can we do?” I asked. “We’ve both already told her how we feel, made a move, or whatever.”

“Yeah, I don’t exactly feel like making a total ass of myself again,” Gates said, chuckling at himself.

“Maybe I should talk to her, see how she feels,” Matt offered.

“I don’t know, Shadz. Did you talk to her already? I feel like she just needs to figure her shit out,” Syn said, shifting in his seat again. His antsiness was getting on my nerves.

“She might just need someone to talk to and get her feelings out. She’s my sister, I know her better than you two idiots,” Matt said. “She’s the type to bottle things up until she can’t handle it anymore. It makes me worry about how she’s feeling right now. Fuck, I hate you two right now.”

“Hey now,” I said. “This was not what we planned. This is why I didn’t want you to become involved.”

“Look,” Matt responded, “I just want what’s best for my little sister and for our band. If this drama between you two fucks that up I’ll kick your asses.”

“Jesus, Shaz. We know, OK? Now just leave us to our misery while we wait for your sister to make up her mind,” Syn said.

I nodded. Hopefully it wouldn’t take too long, either.

-0-

Olivia

When Zack left I sank to the ground, unable to will myself to move to a chair or the couch. I couldn’t believe what was happening to m. All my life, guys hardly paid any attention to me and now, two incredibly amazing, sexy guys were fighting for my affection.

Earlier today I would have jumped into Brian’s arms and rode off into the sunset if he had shown up at my door like her did, but Zack changed that. My afternoon with him was amazing. He was just so easy to be around, he made me laugh, and he knew me so well. At first I thought he had just come to show me that he wanted to be friends still, but that kiss… Wow. I can’t even explain how amazing that kiss was. It was nothing like any kiss I had ever had, not even the ones I shared with Brian. That thought surprised me. All this time I thought Brian was the one for me, but thinking about Zack’s kiss alone was making me doubt that.

Comparing the two guys was hard for me because I truly did care about them both. I knew where I stood with Zack better, though. He was my friend first, we knew everything about each other, and we always enjoyed each other’s company, regardless of the circumstances. I knew exactly how he felt about me, and that he would do anything for me. I wondered what it would have been like if we had been able to take that kiss further…

But with Brian there was a mystery. I didn’t know what he would be like as a boyfriend. I’d never seen him with anyone seriously before. Part of me was entranced by this, thinking that I could be the one to make him settle down, but I knew that wasn’t the most practical thought in the world. There was a passion I cannot deny with Brian, but at this point I wasn’t sure if there would be anything more than that.

I needed to decide what I truly wanted. Did I want to be with the guy who was my friend, who was always good to me? I was just unsure of our passion; though the kiss we shared was amazing, would there be anything beyond this? Or, did I want to be with the guy I had dreamt of for so long, that I experienced amazing passion with? What was more important?

Deep down I think I knew what I wanted. But, I didn’t know if I was ready to make the decision. I also didn’t want to hurt anybody. And I didn’t want to have any regrets. Nothing would be worse than wondering ‘what if’ all of the time. I needed to take the night to sleep on it, mull over if I was certain about what I should do.

I got up off of the floor then and headed to my room. I would wake up refreshed and ready to make my move. I think...


	13. 12

Olivia

I slept better than I thought I would; I had thought that my confusion would leave me tossing and turning, but it really just made me exhausted. When I went to bed last night I felt that I was pretty sure of my decision, but now, ads I lay in bed, I became anxious about it. I didn’t want to hurt anyone’s feelings and I didn’t want to make the wrong choice.

I was laying in bed for about ten minutes after waking up, not wanting to get out of bed and face the day. I rolled over to my side when I heard the phone ringing and I grabbed it off of my nightstand to see that it was a call from my big brother.

“Matt?” I answered, my voice groggy.

“Morning, sunshine,” he said. I could tell he was laughing. I looked over at my clock and it was almost eleven. I usually didn’t sleep that late, so I shot up from my spot in the bed, cursing at myself. “I’m at your door but you didn’t hear me knocking.”

“Hang on a minute,” I said and hung up. I got out of bed and quickly got dressed and threw my hair into a messy bun. Good enough.

When I finally answered the door my brother laughed again and asked, “Rough night, sis?”

I sighed and stepped aside to let him in. I answered, “I guess you could say that. I’m assuming you heard?”

“Yeah they both filled me in. Surprisingly they weren’t killing each other when I walked in. But they were talking about what happened.”

“Well that’s good I guess,” I said. I had been worried about that myself. They can both be hot headed at times and I knew that I had definitely hurt their egos. Brian’s especially. I think Zack had been slightly more understanding about everything, but Brian, well... he was cocky.

Matt sat on my couch then and I sat on the other side, tucking my legs in and facing him. I appreciated him coming over to talk to me, but I could tell the whole thing was making him upset. “Matt, I don’t want you to be mad at me for this. None of this was my intention.”

“I get that, but the drama is too much. I feel like we’re in high school right now,” he said, taking off his signature aviators. “Do you know what you want to do?”

“I think so,” I said, looking down at my knees. “I just don’t want to hurt anyone. Or regret my choice.”

Matt didn’t say anything for a minute or so and was looking at the window, probably thinking about what he wanted to say. With me he was sometimes more careful with his words because he didn’t want to hurt my feelings, but with others he usually just told them outright. “Just tell me what you think,” I said, not wanting him to hide anything from me.

“I just want you to be with someone who makes you happy. There’s more to that than sex, too, you know,” he said.

I laughed. “Is that your way of saying you don’t want me to choose Brian?”

“No, that’s not it. I just mean you need to think about the entire situation, not just the physical parts. I just feel weird talking to you about it,” he said, rolling his eyes at me. “I know you’re a planner and you’ve probably thought a lot about what you want.”

“I have. I know what I want for my future. You know I have goals for myself in school and in my life, we’ve talked about it before. And I needed to think about who I see myself with, who would fit into that future. I’m not the type of girl to date guys just to date, you know. I want a long term, committed relationship,” I started, watching my brother nod. “But sometimes I know I over think things and I regret not going with my gut feelings.”

“And what do your gut feelings say?”

“I know I have feelings for them both. Zack totally took me by surprise, but I can’t deny our chemistry. He’s one of my best friends. He knows everything about me, can make me laugh, deeply cares about me, and well, is a great kisser,” I said, blushing. Matt rolled his eyes, but I continued, “And Brian surprised me in a different way. I knew that, if I really wanted to, I could get him to sleep with me. You know how he is. But it was more than that. I know you don’t want to know the details, but it was amazing. And then he shows up the next day with roses, trying to get me back. And even though I don’t really like roses, the gesture was incredibly sweet, which shows that he is more serious about me then I may have thought at first.”

I sighed, shifting myself so I wasn’t facing him anymore. He didn’t say anything, so I continued, “They will each give me something different. Zack will love me for me and the fact that we’re already friends shows that he and I will have lots of fun and good times together. And though we haven’t experienced all of the physical stuff yet, that can come later. Brian will give the physical right away, and I’m sure it will always be great long term. But I worry about the other things. We will have to learn more about each other, but at the same time, I’m sure we will grow at friends too.”

“Liv, that’s what your brain is telling you. That’s the facts, all of the craziness. What does your gut say?”

I sighed again. He was right. All of my life I had to over analyze every little situation I was in. Even something as simple as what to cook for dinner took a lot of thought. It was something that I knew in many ways was a great trait, but it was also one of my biggest weaknesses. It was hard for me to go with my gut on things, especially something like this.

When I didn’t answer right away, my brother said, “Close your eyes.”

“Why?”

“Just do it! Close your eyes,” he said, so I did. “Picture yourself in a stopped elevator. Who would you rather be stuck with?”

I laughed, opening my eyes, “Matt, that’s stupid.”

“I’m serious, this will help. Don’t think, just feel. I’ll ask a new question since you ruined that one,” he said with a grin. I closed my eyes again and he asked, “If you were stranded on a desert island, who would you rather be with?”

And I knew.

\----

I knew that I needed to see him to tell him how I felt, to let him know that I couldn’t be with him. I needed to tell him myself, let him know that I cared about him, but not in the way he wanted. I didn’t want him to hear from anyone else because I knew that that would hurt him more than if I told him. Or at least that’s how I would feel if this happened to me.

I texted him to meet me at the pier near my apartment. I decided to walk over, to clear my head and calm myself before talking to him. I didn’t want to hurt him, to make him upset. I dreaded the conversation, but it had to be done.

When I got to the pier he was already there, staring off into the ocean. He didn’t see me approaching, and I couldn't help but smile a little. He looked so cool, so relaxed as he soaked up the sun. I felt another pang in my stomach, but I knew that this was the right thing to do.

At first I thought what my brother made me do was stupid and didn’t make any sense, but it helped me. I didn’t think, I just let myself picture it. And when I saw the man I chose I wasn’t even surprised. Deep down I knew it was the right decision, I was just so afraid of making the choice and afraid of hurting anyone. But here I was, about to reject the other man. My brain wouldn’t slow down now; I couldn’t just go with gut feelings this time.

“Hey,” I said sheepishly, trying to get his attention.

“Oh, hey,” he said, looking at me. “You look beautiful.”

I blushed, and looked away from him. I had changed out of my outfit earlier and made myself more presentable, but his compliment made me feel worse about all of this. Even though that was not his intention, I couldn’t help but feel sad.

I sat next to him then and he shifted to look at me. He was truly stunning. For a moment I doubted myself, but I closed my eyes, picturing the deserted island again, knowing what I needed to do.

Opening my eyes, I told him, “First I wanted to say how much I appreciate what you did for me yesterday.”

He sighed then, and I think it hit him. He was smart and caught on quickly. It probably became obvious when I didn’t attack him with kisses right away.

He looked at me dead in the eyes and said, “Just tell me, Liv. Don’t bullshit with me.”

I looked away and said, “I just don’t think we would be right together.”

I saw him shake his head from the corner of my eyes, so I looked towards him again. Before I could say anything else, he said. “I had a feeling that this was what you’d say. After I saw you and him together yesterday I knew I had no chance.”

I didn’t know what to say, so dumbly I told him, “I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be. Like everyone’s been say, ‘bad timing.’ We all had it. I fucked up and I regret it. If I hadn’t you’d probably be mine right now.”

He might be right, which brought tears to my eyes. I told myself I wouldn’t do this, that I would stay strong. So, I said, “Maybe. But honestly, would we have lasted?”

He sighed at that, “Who knows. I wanted to try, if that means anything now. This is why I don’t normally do this.”

He got up then and I followed suit, feeling awkward and horrible. “I’m so sorry. I didn’t want all of this to happen this way.”

He nodded, obviously too upset to say much else. He was trying to keep his temper, I could tell; he was biting down on his bottom lip. We stood there for a moment, not looking at each other, not knowing what to do. Eventually he said, “Just give me some time to be pissed, OK?”

I chuckled a little, not able to help myself. “I can do that. You can be pissed at me forever. It would be reasonable.”

He shook his head, “No, you’re my friend. I’ll get over it in time. Just… just don’t be all couple-y and shit in front of me for awhile.”

I nodded, not really wanting to talk about that with him. It would just make him feel worse.

He laughed then, surprising me. “You’ve surprised me a lot over the last few days, Liv.”

“I’ve surprised myself, honestly.”

“Well, keep surprising yourself, girlie. Life is fun that way,” he told me.

With that, he walked away without a wave or a glance back my way. I stood there for a moment, thinking about what he said, knowing that he was right. I was excited, honestly, to see the man I chose, to experience more surprises. I just hoped he felt the same way.


	14. 13

Olivia

I had just made it home but I was already texting him to come over. I couldn’t wait to see him, to kiss him, to make him mine. I knew if I waited too long I would over think it, analyze what had just happened on the pier and second guess myself.

He responded immediately, telling me he’d be right over. I smiled, knowing that he had probably been waiting by the phone waiting for me to reach out to him. I would’ve been doing them same thing so I couldn’t blame him.

I went into the bathroom to freshen up from my time outside. It was so hot today that I couldn’t help but sweat, and my wavy hair had begun to poof up from the humidity. I took some time to tame my long locks and re-did my light makeup, just in time to hear him knocking at the door. I couldn’t help but giggle as I walked over to answer, knowing he must have gone way over the speed limit to get here that fast.

When I opened the door he had his hands in his pockets and was bobbing back and forth on his heels, clearly extremely anxious for what was to come. He probably thought I called him over to reject him; he wasn’t as confident as he should be, that’s for sure.

“Olivia,” he said, stopping his bouncing. He smiled at me and said, “You look incredible.”

I moved over for him to come inside and immediately lost all of the words I had formed earlier. I had this whole speech prepared for him, but the words were gone. I just stared at him, took him all in, and I felt so incredible at that moment, knowing that I made the right decision.

“You’re beautiful, Zack,” I said, blushing immediately at how stupid I sounded.

He laughed and I couldn’t help but laugh along. “Well, thank you!”

I shook my head and walked over towards him. “I’m sorry about yesterday,” I told him and wrapped my arms around his torso. I couldn’t help myself; I wanted to be near him, to hold him.

He smiled at me and ran his hand through my hair, then wrapped his arms around me too. “Already forgotten.”

And then I was kissing him. There was no point in talking and gushing my feelings now; all of my calculated words seemed stupid now. I needed to kiss him, to feel his hands roaming my body. His kisses made me moan as he entered his tongue into my mouth and I moved my body closer to him, wrapping my arms around his neck.

He broke away from me then, looking into my eyes. “Olivia, I am so happy.”

“Me too,” I said, really meaning it.

I kissed him again, softer this time, and let myself move away from him a bit. I took his hands and led him to the couch, pushing him down lightly so he would sit. I straddled his lap then, immediately feeling him getting turned on, and I grinned.

“Liv-” he moaned slightly, but I stopped him with more kisses. His hands moved up my legs and stopped around my hips as we kissed deeper and deeper. My hands crept under his shirt after a few moments, but I didn’t hesitate to remove it, throwing it on the floor behind us. I closed the gap between us again and he moaned as my hands roamed his naked chest. His hands moved back down to my thighs then and slowly he allowed them to creep up towards the hem of my dress. His closeness turned me on and I wanted him so badly.

He pulled away from me and suddenly lifted me off of the couch, carrying me towards my bedroom. I laughed a bit, feeling giddy from feeling his strong arms carry me, and he laughed too before gently laying me on the bed.

He moved over top of me, brushing my hair away from my eyes. He laid a gentle kiss on my forehead then, making me grin like an idiot. Then he said, “Olivia… I, gosh…”

I giggled and kissed him, trying to calm him down a bit. “Zack, you’re so amazing.”

He smiled at me and said, “I love you, Olivia.”

“I love you too, Zack,” I said immediately, knowing that it was completely true. I can’t believe I didn’t know how much I truly loved this man, that it took me this long to see that he was the one for me. That I was blinded by everything else happening around me.

He kissed me then, gently at first, but then he couldn’t resist any longer and began kissing me with such fierceness I moaned again. His hands roamed my body, slipping underneath my dress towards my panties and I felt myself getting wet with his touch. His kisses continued and he slipped his finger under my panties, rubbing my clit.

I broke away from his kisses to moan, and I could feel that I was driving him wild; his erection was throbbing against my leg. He shifted, moving his hand away from me to remove my panties completely. My dress was taken off a moment after and he took a deep breath. I removed my bra then, not wanting to wait for him to mess around with the clasp, and he practically moaned at the sight of me. I smiled as he greedily stared at my naked body, letting his hands move over every inch of me.

“Wow,” he said, more to himself then to me. I was grinning and blushing, loving how he was making me feel. He looked into my eyes, though his hands didn’t leave my body, and said “I have been dreaming of this moment for years. But this… wow, Olivia.”

“This isn’t fair is what it is,” I teased, pointing to his shorts. He immediately got the hint, shifting around to remove his shorts and boxers.

I pulled him towards me, kissing him hard, and when I broke away I said, “You are so beautiful.” I didn’t sound as stupid this time, but he still grinned, laughing a little at my statement.

I grabbed a condom for him from my night stand and he quickly put it on. He shifted himself over me, placing himself near me, hesitating before entering.

“Zack,” I said, not able to stand the teasing, “I want you, now.”

He didn’t wait any longer then and entered himself into me, immediately causing me to moan with passion. It felt so amazing as his pumped himself in and out of me, slowly at first, but quicker and quicker as time passed. He kissed my neck and his hands caressed my breasts and I was screaming with the pleasure of it all.

He stopped for a minute, pulling out of me, probably to stop himself from cumming. He kissed my cheek and moved down, kissing my body everywhere as he worked himself down. Before I knew it his mouth was on me, tongue flicking across my clit. He entered two fingers inside of me, slowly moving them in and out as his tongue moved around. My back arched in pleasure as I felt my insides squeeze around his fingers. He quickened the paced of his tongue and fingers, and moved his free hand to one of my breasts, gently playing with the nipple. I couldn’t take it anymore; I had never felt so amazing. I let myself go, let myself feel the release as I came, screaming Zack’s name.

He moved away, wiping his lips with a grin. I was panting heavily, coming down from the high I just felt. I just kept saying ‘Wow’ over and over, which made him laugh.

“You ready for more, Liv?” he asked, his voice gruff and sexy. I nodded, not able to talk just yet.

He placed himself back inside of me, rougher this time, but it felt amazing. He pounded himself into me over and over again, quickly and hard. I moved my hips along with his, pushing myself into him to feel him deeper and it set him over the edge. He slowed slightly, shaking as he came.

He moved off of me then, laying back on the bed and panting heavily. I lied there as well, unable to move right away. He cleaned himself up and I shifted to face him.

“Zack, that was...wow,” I couldn’t come up with anything better.

He put his arm around me and smiled, saying, “Yes, wow!”

I laughed, cuddling closer to him. “I can’t believe how stupid I was.”

He raised a brow. “What do you mean?”

“I mean how I didn’t see it before. Of course you loved me. I was just so blind and I will always be sorry for that. I am so happy you kissed me the other night, even though it may not have seemed that way at first. You make me so happy, Zack. You’re my best friend, you’re so sweet, you make me laugh, and you’re so damn cute I can hardly stand it. I love you,” I told him, stroking his hair.

He was smiling, loving every moment. It made me happy to see him this way. “I love you, too. I always have. Ever since the day that I met you.”

“Really?” I asked, surprised. “I wasn’t particularly very friendly to you guys that day.”

“Just to your brother. You were so cute and fiesty. I wanted you from the very moment I saw you,” he said and kissed me.

“Well I’m glad I finally caught up,” I joked. “I am so glad that I am with you.”

“Me too, Olivia. So fucking glad.”


	15. Epilogue

Zack

I was all dressed up and ready to go, but Liv wasn’t yet. She looked so beautiful before me, standing in her underwear. He hair was curled and she had on this sexy red lipstick that made me want to kiss her so badly. But, I couldn’t; she wanted him to help her get dressed, not undressed.

“Ugh I don’t know what to wear,” she complained. “I should’ve figured this out yesterday.”

“Eh, who cares if we’re late. They’ll just think we’re screwing,” I said, making her roll her eyes. I laughed and moved to her closet, looking inside. I was surprised to see that little blue sundress that she had won all those years ago when I fell in love with her. “Here,” I said, pulling it out of the closet.

“Zack, no. That’s so old I’ve had it since high school,” she said, laughing. “It’s not dressy enough. Why’d you pick that one?”

“It’s what you wore the day I met you,” I said, kissing her cheek.

"You remember that?" She asked in surprise, smiling at me. “You’re so damn cute.”

She told me that a lot but I loved hearing it. “I’m happy you still have it. Keep it; I fell in love with you in that dress.”

She moved towards me and kissed me. “I love you.”

“I love you too,” I told her.

-0-

Olivia

We were sitting outside with our closest friends, fanning ourselves from the heat of the day. It was gorgeous outside, a perfect day for a wedding.

Zack grinned at me from across the aisle as we watched our friends exchange vows. A few years ago, if someone had asked me about this day, I would have said that I would be the girl up there in the white dress. But now, I was happy right where I was, sitting and watching their big moment. Even though my eyes kept drifting to the cute groomsman instead...

A few months after Zack and I started dating, Brian and Michelle decided to give it another try. Well, at least Brian decided to. Michelle was waiting; she knew that he would come back to her. In the past I had thought it was dumb for her to be that way, but I think that was mostly because of my crush on Brian. But I got it now. When you truly love someone, you can’t just let go, no matter what happens between them. Now, Michelle was smarter that time around; when he asked to be with her again, she made it known that it was for real that time. Brian had no issue with this.

I thought that after everything Michelle would totally hate me. But for some reason, she and I became even closer after they got back together. She had told me she was mean to me in the past because she knew I liked him, and I returned the sentiment. After we knew we could get over that, we became close friends.

The guys (minus Matt) and I had secretly made bets on how long we thought it would last this time. Johnny had bet the shortest amount of time, saying it was because he’d steal Michelle away from Gates (yeah right), and I had bet the longest, saying I think it would work out for real this time. The boys all owed me a beer tonight because of it.

Michelle had just finished telling Brian her vows, and they were beautiful, making me tear up. But Brian blew me away from his words.

“I’ve never been the type to get wrapped up in memories or specific moments. I’ve always been the kind of guy to live in the moment and not worry about the past, not even the good parts. But with you, Michelle, it’s been different. I remember every moment with you. The good moments and the bad moments, and even the in between ones. And I vow to you that every moment we share together in the future will be cherished. I love you, Michelle. I vow to you that I will be the best husband that I can be.”

They were kissing even before the pastor told them to and everyone cheered. Moments later they were walking back down the aisle, man and wife.

\---

Almost everyone was drunk and having a total blast, dancing like crazy to the band’s music. Zack wasn’t a big dancer, but for me he was out on the floor, busting moves right and left. He may have looked like an idiot doing it, but I loved every moment.

A slow song came on next, and before Zack could wrap his arms around me, I felt a tap on my shoulder.

“May I have this dance, girlie?” Brian asked me with a grin.

Zack bowed and walked away, making us both laugh. Brian wrapped an arm around my waist and grabbed my hand, slowly spinning me around on the dance floor.

“I’m surprised you’re not drunk,” I joked, making him laugh.

“Nah, don’t want to make the wife mad. Gotta perform tonight,” he said with a wink. I rolled my eyes.

“In all seriousness, Liv, I just wanted to say thank you,” Brian told me.

“For what?”

“For what happened between us. I think you were right, we wouldn’t have lasted.”

I laughed, “Yeah, probably not. We’re too different. You and Michelle, though, are meant for each other. I’m so happy for you two.”

“Thanks,” he said with a smile. “But without you I don’t know if I would have swallowed my pride and asked her to be with me again. I was just too cocky to admit that I always loved her. I was an ass and you helped me see that. I was arrogant about how I treated women. When you rejected me I was pissed, but as time passed I realized that I wasn't as amazing as I thought I was. What I mean is, you helped me see that I needed to change my ways a bit in order to be happy. And I had always been happy when I was with Michelle, but I was too much of an arrogant bastard to get it. So thank you."

I wasn’t expecting him to tell me this, but the way he told me made me chuckle a bit. “Wow, Brian,” I said, touched by his words.

“ I am happy you and Zack are together. I expect the next wedding you and I will dance at will be yours.”

I smiled, “I hope so.”

The song ended and Brian move away from me then, heading back towards his new wife. Zack came back to me then, wrapping his arms around me.

“What was that all about?” he asked.

“Gates basically just told me that I’m the reason we’re here today,” I said, flipping my hair. Zack laughed.

“Well hallelujah!” he said, lifting me and spinning me around.

I laughed as he put me down, the room spinning behind me. He put his hand on my cheek then and leaned down to kiss me.

“I am so happy that you’re my girl. Someday this will be us,” he said, pointing towards the bride and groom.

I kissed him then, wrapping my arms around him. “I can’t wait.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading!
> 
> Story was originally posted on avengedsevenfoldfanfiction.com under my other username, JJ


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